Of Time & Tide
by Knockturn Kelsey
Summary: Twenty year old Hermione Granger must adapt to her new life after a FLOO Network accident sends her back in time. When she arrives in the seventeen thirties Caribbean, she is introduced into a whole new adventure with pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. Non-movie verse
1. Knockturn Alley

**[Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Pirates of The Caribbean]**

(Knockturn Alley- Nov. 2001)

Leaping over some barrels of unknown contents seemed to all go by in slow motion, hovering in midair momentarily before landing heavily on the cobblestone streets of Knockturn Alley. Hermione glanced over her shoulder quickly to determine the distance between her and her pursuers.

She took short, quick breaths, attempting to stay in a constant rhythm as she ran, taking in the cool bitter air that lingered within the grey streets. It seemed like a never ending maze of the same reoccurring images. Dark brick covered the buildings on either side of the so called cobblestone road, dust and debris often ricocheting into her by the mere flick of a wand.

How it came to this, however, she wasn't completely sure. It began with a small trip to Diagon Alley, where she soon found herself in Knockturn Alley in search of the moved Apothecary. Now, to her dismay, Hermione was being hunted down by Death Eaters, eager to barter her valuable skin for a few coins to feed their hungry pockets.

The young witch rounded a corner, unsure of where it lead to, but as long as it was away from them she really didn't care.

She cried out and ducked as one of the snatchers following her cast a spell, knocking over a few crates. Hermione didn't risk the chance to turn around, almost positive she wouldn't be entirely pleased with the sight.

A small unleveled stone stuck out of the road, one that just so happened to interfere with her path. Before she had the chance to register what was happening, Hermione found herself on the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. She glanced a peek behind her after hearing a sudden flurry of barks, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw a large pack of dogs, much like Fang, to be about forty feet behind. And behind them, the snatchers sprinted.

She pulled herself up and shot a curse behind her, a net spreading behind her to immobile a few of the dogs, but it hadn't slowed them down much. People in the streets all slowly dispersed upon seeing her running head on toward them. She was being slowed down by their reluctance to move.

She skidded around a corner, where a few old abandoned shops silently called her name for temporary safekeeping, offering an escape from the enemies.

She burst through the old wooden doors of the nearest shop, shutting them behind her. She held her breath so as to prevent her from missing the sound of the dogs and death eaters running by.

Hearing the familiar sound of dogs running and feet shuffling upon the half-rock-half-dirt street, she slid down the door in relief. She took many deep breaths, attempting to regain her composure from her previous skirmish.

Out of nowhere, one of the snatchers apparated into the room. Hermione screamed and pulled herself up to try and make a run for it, but he had already wrapped his dirty hand around her arm.

"Been givin' my friends and I a little trouble, you 'ave." The man said, a small smile spoke volumes and shook her to the core. "Now tell me, what do you think will happen next? Hm? You want me to take ye to the Manor like I did all those months ago? Because I know Bellatrix would just love to see you again..."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She grumbled, giving him a defiant look.

"Now... Are you going to come quietly?" He asked, retrieving a wand from his coat pocket. She tried to bury herself into the wall, or anything that would get her away from him at that matter.

Her knee came up quickly and knocked him right on target. He toppled over in pain before she made a run for it. Although, he reached out and grabbed her ankle. She screamed and accidentally knocked down a cauldron of grey powder along the way. The black cauldron hopped into a nearby fireplace, it's contents dispersing everywhere.

A fire, green in flame, engulfed the room as Hermione landed within it's depths and disappeared inside, leaving behind one incredibly confused snatcher.

***AN: For those of you only looking for a short story, this is not one of them. I'm about twenty some chapters in, and they will all be longer than this one, I can assure you. I've written a few stories thus far, one other that is published, but this one is my pride and joy. If anyone has questions, recommendations, or reviews, I am open to responses. Thanks for reading! - KelC247***


	2. Beckett the Buckett

(Beckett the Buckett, Nov. 1731)

A man sat quaint and undisturbed at his desk, organizing papers, signing warrants, and plotting merchant vessel trade routes. Powdered wig placed on top of his head, he shooed a fly out of his face.

Signing his name at the bottom of a page, he looked up upon a strange and sudden happening. A green flame became of the fireplace, flump sounded from within, followed by a cloud of dust.

He immediately stood up, craning his neck suspiciously so as to get a better view. The man took a few cautious steps forward, and joined an unfamiliar girl at the end of his journey.

She wore the oddest of clothes. It seemed as though she was wearing pants, pants that happened to be cut very high up. It was certainly not a dress

of any kind. She also had on a white shirt, and the barest of shoes. He gave her a quizzical once over.

"State your name, girl." The man in the powdered wig instructed.

"Hermione." She said, taking his hand as he offered it to her.

"What- where did you come from? You weren't sweeping the chimney, we're you?" He asked, surprised.

"Um, actually, I can't remember. I must've hit my head on the way down." She lied, unable to conjure up a quick excuse that would prove reliable.

"I see..." The man said. "Come sit, madam." He motioned toward a chair to where she took a seat. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Cutler Beckett, in case you don't recognize me. Can I get you anything? Should I fetch a doctor?"

"I'm fine. Just fine, maybe time will be kind to me and I can slowly recall things." She nervously tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Water?" He asked, showing her a glass container of water.

"Yes please." She said quietly, watching him as he carefully poured her a glass of water. She accepted it gratefully. Taking in her surroundings, she noted his appearance which consisted of eighteenth century attire, all the way down to the powdered wig. Although, he seemed rather young to have one, maybe it came with the 'governor' image.

"Do you have a place to stay?" He asked, disrupting her thoughts. She could tell he was studying her as well.

"No, sir, I don't."

"Well, I would be honored if you stayed as a guest in my home."

"I would hate to impose-"

"Nonsense. I will have someone ready you a room."

Their attention was turned to a young man entering the room, dressed in uniform. "Sir, I have these letters for you from the governor. Your presence is needed in Puerto Rico as soon as physically possible."

"Thank you, Thomas. I must leave you, Hermione, I shall accompany you later. Until then I have some business to take care of." He explained before leaving, the uniformed boy following behind.

As soon as she was sure he was out of sight, she dropped her casual appearance and bolted to the fireplace, attempting to recover the remains of the FLOO powder. Where had it taken her, exactly? Since when did it travel back in time rather than from place to place? The department of magical transportation constantly monitored the network, and unless for some reason someone in the ministry wanted to get rid of her, it shouldn't have done anything. Yaxley possibly, but just as equally guilty as Umbridge would have been.

By great chance their intentions were in fact to get rid of her, being one less person in the way of Harry Potter. It all made sense now, but how would she get back? She scavenged her pockets in hopes of finding her time turner, but all that was there was her wand accompanied by her iPhone.

In the meantime, she also knew that any form of influence on the nobleman could prove disastrous. For now, she decided that laying low would be her best bet. No drastic actions because the smallest things could change the course of history as it stood. She recalled reading books, some about people who traveled back in time, and how was she any different?

Pacing about the room, she pondered her predicament, searching her mind for any ideas on her next move.

After minutes of nothing, she plumped back down into her chair, "It's no use..." She complained, "Positive, Hermione, think positive."

She closed her eyes, listening without distraction. The many French doors along the wall let in a calm breeze, carrying the warm sea air- sea air?

Standing up, she rushed through the doors and out onto a luxurious vine-covered patio. Beyond the railing of the patio was an ever-extending beach lined with palm trees. In the distance there were large merchant ships that all bore the colors of the British navy. Judging by other obvious clues, she determined here to be a tropical region, maybe Cuba, northern Venezuela?

She turned upon remembering Beckett sitting at his desk when she had first 'arrived'. Walking quickly over to the desk, she snatched up the first set of papers that had caught her eye. They were all old and written on with quill and ink, a red candle wax seal at the top of the page marked a familiar logo.

She immediately began searching her memory of muggle history, trying to recall this symbol. The it hit her. "The East India Company!" She yelled out in epiphany before reminding herself to keep quiet.

Down at the bottom of the page was a signature of the man, Governor Beckett. Beneath the name, a date. Her eyes widened. November 1731?


	3. Jackson & the Falls

The room rocked from side to side, and Hermione was prepared to regurgitate anything she had eaten, which wasn't much. This room was smaller than what the young witch would have liked, but it was functional. She sat on her small cot, a round port-hole window beside her and a never ending vision of blue beyond that. Across from her cot was a sink and a mirror, only enough to get by.

She had been on this ship for two days now, sailing with the East India Trading Company and Governor Beckett. They were headed to Puerto Rico to establish a decent trading route through the land, but that was all Hermione was aware of.

The more she was around this Governor fellow, the more she came to realize that he was incredibly arrogant and had no regards to others. She had gotten a lot of rat for being the only woman on board, and thus decided apparently useless beyond cleaning. Of course, with Hermione's stubborn nature, she refused to comply with the men's feminist orders. Soon found her favorite place to be alone in her room, which didn't bother her too much.

Standing, she approached the window, leaning on the frame and looking out. There, in the distance was a small green dot. She focused her eyes, straining herself to see. Was this Puerto Rico?

Hermione burst excitedly out of her cabin and into the empty hallway. A few doors down and to the right lay a set of stairs, leading up to a windowed room. There, windowed doors opened up to the deck where sophisticated sailors carried out their work; pulling ropes, climbing ratlines, tying and untying sails with different winds. The ship itself was white with red accents. The floorboards were white, the wheel was white, the interior walls were white, the sails were white.

Hermione came up upon the red painted railing of the ship, trying to get a better view of this new place.

"Anxious, are we?" A voice sounded from behind. She looked over her shoulder to see Governor Beckett, standing as tall as possible with his showy cane and elaborate powdered wig. She couldn't help but stare at his eyebrows that blatantly mismatched his wig.

"A little." She shrugged, unsure of what to expect once they arrived.

"It's nothing special, really. Filthy place." He spat in such a way that Hermione could only picture Draco doing.

"So you've been here?" She asked.

"More than I would like." He said, thumping his cane on the ground. "What you'll come to understand, Miss Granger, is that every good man is willing to sacrifice his liberty for business."

"Meaning?" Hermione insinuated, tilting her head to the side.

"Meaning that every man that does otherwise is against the law. There is no 'grey' portion these days, there either is or there isn't. You either do understand or you do not understand. Is this clear to you, Miss Granger?" Beckett spoke most plainly, and she couldn't help but find herself intimidated by him.

She nodded. "Yes, sir, I understand."

"Governor Beckett," A sailor called Gibbs sounded from the wheel with a slight scottish accent. "The crows nest view shows a ship in the distance. A pirate ship by the looks of it."

"A pirate ship, you say?" Beckett mused, clicking his tongue in thought before walking to the helm.

"You mean to say, _real _pirates are here?" Hermione spoke up as she picked up the peach colored skirt of her dress, following Beckett up the steps to the upper deck.

"You will learn not to speak unless spoken to, Miss Granger." Beckett flashed her a stern look, causing her to step back a bit. This feeling of 'intimidation' wasn't exactly something she was accompanied to.

"It's on the other side of the island, no where near port. We should be all clear on the boundaries." Gibbs continued the status on the pirates.

Beckett reached into his vest, retrieving a foldable telescope and holding it up to his eye. "Well well well..." Beckett lowered the spyglass. "It seems as though the _Black Pearl _has business in Panama as well."

"Shall we make a confrontation, sir?" Gibbs asked.

"We find ourself preoccupied and without further need. If the pirates decide to interfere in our business, then the Company can and will take action, but until then, we remain scarce." Beckett explained.

* * *

Hermione sat on a barrel near the campfire in the middle of a jungle clearing. The sun shone between the trees above, carrying a warm era with it. The sound of birds and monkeys called to each other within the trees. She had never been to Puerto Rico before, but it seemed no different than the beaches of Port Royal in Jamaica.

"Hermione, you are to stay within the camp. The troops and I are going to search for the pirates, so stay out of trouble if you can." Beckett instructed her before exiting the tent.

"Who all will accompany me?" She followed him, sidestepping a few armed soldiers walking past.

"I will leave a few soldiers here for your protection, if you wish. To keep you out of trouble. I don't know when I will see you next whether it's tonight or tomorrow, so until then, I bid you goodbye." He turned and strutted over to the rest of the readied troop.

"Stay out of trouble my arse," She mumbled, stepping back into her tent, "I am going exploring, and if the guards have to come with me then so be it... I'm not taking orders from some pompous windbag Beckett and his men of the crown." She laughed to herself, adding extra enthusiasm to her words.

"Madam Hermione, madam Hermione!" a guard jogged up to her.

"What? What is it?" She asked, concerned by his urgency.

"I was just told to watch you, that's all." The young soldier told her. This would pose problems for her plans of exploration.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't need supervision, I can take care of myself." She smiled, grabbing her wand from behind her back and putting it in the makeshift pocket of her dress without him noticing.

"Lord Beckett's orders, madam." He said in a tone that proved he was trying to make himself seem as a higher rank officer.

She defiantly walked out of the tent, him hurriedly following to keep up with her. Hermione noticed the troops exiting the camp, Beckett mounted on a horse while the rest marched around him. She inwardly sneered at his arrogance.

"You know my name, but I not yours." She tried to spark a conversation to keep from getting bored.

"That is... classified information." The young guard told her in the same tone.

She raised one eyebrow in response and gave him a serious look.

"Thomas..." He sighed, giving in.

"Nice to meet you Thomas. Oh, hey! Would you look at that!" She pointed towards the jungle behind him, "I think it's the natives you're supposed to protect me from!" She lied, trying her best to hide a smile.

"Where?" He spun around and ran towards the area where she pointed. When he turned his back, she took off running into the jungle behind her.

"What a tool!" She laughed to herself as she ran deeper and deeper into the jungle. After she figured she was far enough away, Hermione sat down in the foliage to catch her breath.

Shouting emanated from the direction of the camp, leading her to the conclusion that they figured out she was gone. The shouting increased in volume, they were coming closer.

Hermione stood up and searched around for an escape. After a thorough survey, she figured her best bet was to climb up some of the hanging vines. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

Grasping onto the vine, she tugged on it to test it's trustworthiness. After it seemed sturdy, she pulled herself up the vine, each inch almost agonizing with the threat of the approaching guards. Eventually she came along the branches of the trees, swinging onto them, she steadied herself. Looking down, it was about an estimated fifty something foot drop to the jungle floor below.

She held back a scream the best she could upon seeing a large yellow python slither onto the branch beside her. It's tongue flicking out as it watched her. She held her breath and told herself not to make any sudden movements. Add to the fact that the guards were now standing beneath her. She could hear them discussing within themselves.

"She must be found before he gets back, otherwise we'll all lose our credibility!"

"I still don't understand why we are saving the girl only to please Governor Beckett, he doesn't have control over US yet."

"Nevermind that, we have a runaway to catch. Thomas, you and stupid here can take west, Jaron and I take the south east. Everything else is water, she'll have no business going there."

She watched as they all split up and divided into their separate ways.

After they were at a safe enough distance, she cautiously began to slide down the trunk of the tree, the bark scraping her hands along the way. Once at the bottom, she examined her hands to find they were only red, no blood thank goodness.

Wiping her hands on her dress, she continued on her way, deciding to go northwest, or at least in the direction the guards hadn't gone. It was only common sense.

The roots of trees stuck out of the ground, colorful birds gathered in the trees and monkeys swung in the branches above, calling to each other. The sun lit up the rainbow forest in such a way it could only tickle your imagination. Fruits of all sorts scattered around, tempting her to try them, but she only tried the ones that she recognized as healthy and not possible poison. After hours a few hours of scouting the jungle, she stopped in hearing a faint rumble and the familiar sound of running water. A river! She followed the sound, rounding a giant wall of solid rock to loose her breath at the sight of a magnificent waterfall.

It seemed to be taller than some of the buildings in London. At the base of the waterfall was a fallen tree, so tall it stretched across the entire width of the waterfall like a bridge. Coming closer to the water, the air clouded up from the mist of the crushing water.

I'm feeling stupid today...Hermione thought herself before putting a foot onto the wood of the tree. Steadying herself, she dared take another step, telling herself not to look down. Step after step, she held her breath because the slightest slip up could turn fatal.

About halfway across, she felt a thud from behind her. She turned to see a large black panther, with slick smooth fur and a jagged smile. It growled and haunched back threateningly. Hermione held her breath, trying to ponder a way out of the predicament before it made any moves.

She tried to back away slowly and unnoticed. It stalked forward, matching her movements.

She glanced over her shoulder, just to make sure she was headed in the right direction rather off the side of the log.

The moist wood caused her foot to slip, with a scream she fell and managed to catch herself, now dangling precariously off the side of the tree. A figure jumped into view, she didn't get to see who or what it was with the massive fog, but whatever it was managed to turn the attention of the panther to itself.

Taking the newfound opportunity to her advantage, Hermione tried to pull herself up onto the log, but it was too slippery.

One hand slipped, and she let out a terrified cry when she saw she was dangling above the rocks at the base of the waterfall.

Hermione felt something around her forearm pull her up to where she could stand on the log.

Swaying a little, her attention was pulled back to the panther. The person jumped in front of her, and started to nudge the large cat back with his sword.

She looked down to the familiar sound of snapping wood. Their weight being to much for the rotting tree, the surface beneath them surrendering. It was too late when she finally recognized that all three of them were plummeting downward.

Once in the water, Hermione swam towards what was left of the tree, and climbed on top of it. There, she searched the tips of the water for her savior who was no where to be seen.

Suddenly the person came up, coughing for air, and he wasn't far from her either. Hermione came up from behind and wrapped her arm around his torso, pulling him up onto the log.


	4. Skillydillies and Crocs

Hermione struggled in keeping the man up onto the log as she looked forward at the sound of churning water to see they were quickly advancing on the end of the river. It just stopped? Her eyes widened in panic when it donned on her that it was another waterfall.

Another waterfall waited behind them, pulling them to it. Hermione began to desperately paddle opposite the flow of the river, as if it would help either way.

After what felt like forever, she finally accepted the fact that there was no avoiding the water's edge. She clung to the unconscious man beside her, knowing that when they hit the bottom, he wouldn't be able to swim himself back up. She soon felt the sudden pull towards the edge, like the peak of a roller coaster. She found herself squeezing the man as if her life depended on it as they disconnected from the water, plummeting through the air. A rather large body of water awaited them at the bottom, and she braced herself for impact.

They hit the water with such a force, the man slipped out of her strong grip, and she looked up to see millions of tiny bubbles, of which she instinctively followed to the surface.

She gasped when the cold water became chilly air. She bobbed on the surface as the waves crashed down nearby her. Then, Hermione remembered the man. Her eyes scanned the area, she spun in the water, looking around. He wasn't there.

Gathering one quick gasp, she forced herself to dive back under, where she saw the man floating towards the bottom. He was being inspected by the curious surrounding fish, all nipping at the dread locks that fanned about him.

She kicked downward with her feet, seeing the fish disperse as she wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him up with her.

She reached the surface, paddling with her exhausted arms toward the river bank, coughing and sputtering along the way.

Hermione arrived at the sandy bank that faded into jungle, and she collapsed onto the solid ground, thankful to be alive. Her eyes reluctantly wandered to the man who lay face down beside her.

She flipped him over with one arm, and pressed two fingers in the skin just below his jaw to feel for a pulse. Ever so faintly, there was one. Now all she had to do was wait for him to wake up. She breathed out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes, glad that was all over.

The man opened his eyes, sitting up and immediately looking around to an unfamiliar surrounding. He furrowed his eye brows, squinting up at the tall waterfall. He jumped upon looking to his right and seeing a girl lying beside him.

He began to recall his memory, remembering the other waterfall, the girl and the jaguar, but nothing more. Judging by the vibrant yellow skies, he realized he must have been unconscious for hours. He leaned over, making sure she was okay by pressing his ear into her chest to feel a heartbeat. When he felt her chest rise and fall along with a steady heartbeat, he leaned back to examine their location.

He tried to fight the urge to look at her again, but he couldn't help it. Turning his head, he noticed how her curly brown hair lay beautifully around her head, her face soft and relaxed. He touched her cheek, wondering what it felt like. She smiled at his touch, making his stomach become light as he continued to study this mysterious and beautiful girl. For an odd, unexplained reason, he felt drawn to her. This was something he hadn't experienced before, thus he wasn't sure how to handle it.

She began to stir, but Jack was too entranced to move. She blinked open her eyes, screaming and scooted back upon seeing his face so close to hers.

"Give you a fright, darlin?" He asked, grinning at the girl.

"Just a little." She said, voice shaky. She didn't turn her gaze from him, not trusting him entirely.

"That was a close one." He wrung out the bandana he wore.

"You're telling me..."She agreed, looking down at the ground and trying to comprehend everything that was going on.

"Wha's your name, doll?" The man asked, head tilted to the side, his elbows resting on his knees.

"What's it to you?" She snapped, not so willing to trust this man who was most obviously a pirate. At the same time, he appeared to be young for a pirate, still around four or five years older than herself.

"Odd name..." The man mused. "Well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Whatsit." He held out his hand, presenting her with a charming smile.

"I'm not shaking your hand." She said, trying to conceal a smile, "Merlin knows where it's been."

He shrugged, agreeing with her point. "Say, what are you doing out here anywho?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Is too! Well, I did save your life. You might as well explain to me why it needed saving in the first place."

"And I saved yours! Doesn't that count for something? Besides, I don't trust you."

"Have I given ye any reason not to trust me, luv?" He asked, looking over exaggeratedly hurt, holding his fist over his heart.

"You're a pirate! That's all enough reason!" She said, shaking with her sudden courage to scorn a pirate.

"You're not very well experienced with graditude, are you?" He shot back, only slightly offended.

"I don't need your help." She snapped, not wanting to be thought of as a damsel in distress. She could have been able to handle it herself.

"Aye, that's why you were hanging above certain death due to a certain predatorious beasty with absolutely no chance of escape." He tilted his head, eyes focused with a toothy grin.

"You don't know what I'm capable of. Now I thank you for your efforts, but they're no longer required." She stood up, adjusting her damp dress so that it wouldn't cling to her.

He stood up and walked to her, leaning forward, "Now, where do you think you're going?"

"Away from you obviously." She told him without turning to face him. She proceeded into the forest, throwing her hair back over her shoulder for effect.

"Now, luv, why would anyone want to leave the exciting presence of Captain Jack Sparrow?" He jumped through the tangle of trees, now jogging to catch up to her.

She pushed through the low hanging branches, letting one go at just the opportune moment to slap him in the face.

"Because. You are a pirate. And therefore untrustworthy."

He tilted his head, trying to figure out this strange girl. He wasn't accustomed to a woman's rejection. Usually they would do anything to get near him. And now, just to his luck, the one he wanted more than any other had absolutely no interest in him whatsoever.

"Untrustworthy? Darlin, what 'ave I done to not earn your trust? Captain Jack always makes a point to be an honest man... When it comes to women... Most women?" He seemed unsure. "Besides, where have you to go?"

"Does it matter? Why don't you just go along your jolly way, do you not have anywhere better to be? Anyone else to annoy? Now, if you'll excuse me I am going to find my camp." She lifted her chin up defiantly and continued forward.

Jack had stopped, smug grin in place that he finally got some information about this strange girl, "So that's what your doing, eh? Finding your camp?"

"Would you not just LEAVE ME ALONE?!" She spun around, her volume causing nearby birds to flock away.

"Well that sounds boring, doesn't it?" He asked, walking ahead of her then stopping.

She sighed, trying to calm down her anger, fists clenched.

She now had the opportunity to examine her savior. He had very tan skin, dreadlocks and beads for hair, a goatee with two braided beards and a red bandana. Definitely not the guard she thought he was at first.

"Allow me to introduce myself, lovie, *I* am you notorious Captain Jack Sparrow, you've probably heard of me. Recently dubbed Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, captain of the infamous Black Pearl, but you can call me Jack." He smiled to her.

"I figured after the however so many times you called yourself Jack Sparrow." She noticed he was incredibly arrogant.

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'Captain', but once again doll, you may call me Jack. It's a privalage not given to most, so consider yourself honored." He complemented himself with a dramatic bow.

"Oh yes, I consider myself honored." She said sarcastically, "And you should be honored to stand in my mere presence. You don't seem to understand my level of importance and my role in society." She darted, her sarcasm prevalent, considering to use magic as her means to rid of him.

"You wouldn't happen to be a Lady of the Court, would you?" He asked, hoping she wasn't. If that were the case she could really get him into trouble.

"I think it's in your best interest if you keep your mingling nostrils out of other people's business." She gave him a fierce look when he laughed to himself slightly.

She knew he was going to ask where she came from, or what she was doing out the, but he couldn't know she was there with the Navy, he was a pirate. They were probably after him, and she didn't want him to leave , her after finding out. Something about him, something she couldn't quite place, called him to her and her to him.

"What were you doing out there? By the waterfall I mean." He asked, trying to get to know this girl he seemed drawn to. "Wait. Let me guess... You're out hunting?" He asked, she shook her head no. "You don't seem like you are the hunting type, anyway. Umm bird watching?" He asked, she giggled silently, and shook her head again.

"Exploring?" He asked.

"You just won't give up will you?" She asked, now clearly annoyed.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. Well I travel the world. I've been almost everywhere you can imagine." She gave him a quizzical look, causing him to get defensive. "It's true, luv. I've seen all the way from Singapore to London."

"I'm from London."

"Aha!" He yelled, holding up his index finger, glad to learn something new about her, even if it were this little. "Perhaps we've crossed paths before luv, just didn't know it."

"How unfortunate..." She said while in thought. There was absolutely no way they'd met before, considering her past was approximately three centuries ahead.

"Ya know, If you wanted somewhere to go, you don't have to, it's just an idea, but you can come with me. I have a ship, a crew. Always out on an adventure, ya know." He started chopping away at the foliage blocking their path, even though she was ahead of him and having no trouble proceeding.

"Oh really?" She asked, sarcasm returning, "I would be thrilled!"

"Lovely!" Jack stated, believing her tone. "In case you're wondering how I found you, I was looking for my crew, we got separated a few hours ago, when I came across you walking around in the jungle by your lonesome. I hadn't a clue why you were, so I thought I'd stay hidden. I'd been following you for a while, just curious to where you were going."

"Go away." She smiled to him, trying a different outlet.

"I can tell you're going to be a handful," He grinned. "I'll always have something to do then, eh?"

They both simultaneously looked down at the telltale squashy sound of mud. It seems they had wandered into a swamp with their pointless banter.

"Oh joy!" She said with sarcasm, stomping her foot in the mud which resulted in it splattering everywhere.

"The sun is setting, it's getting dark..." He began announced.

"Thank you for the low-down on the weather report, captain obvious." She commented, now trying to get on his nerves since nothing else seemed to be working.

"How do you manage to confuse Sparrow with Obvious?" He asked, clearly not understanding the twenty first century joke. She rolled her eyes at his unintentionally silly behavior.

"I wonder how much further it is till we meet the beach. Hopefully my crew hasn't left without us!" He continued ahead through the muck and to a dry log in the middle of the swamp.

"Not bad..." Jack observed, referring to the swamp. She raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Well, I'm not saying I'd like to have a summer home here, but the trees are quite lovely..." He commented, still scanning the treetops of hanging moss. Their branches gracefully intertwined with one another.

The mud bubbled and churned, dragon flies, gnats and other insects of the sort buzzed around.

They stood on the log, Jack leaned over and grabbed a stick. She watched him curiously as he started to paddle the log like a gondola.

"Is it just me or did the log just-" The log they were standing on started to rumble, and raise out of the swamp. At Hermione's end of the log, a scaly tail rose up, and at Jack's side, a diamond shape head formed. "I don't think this is a log!" Jack said, Hermione grabbing onto his arm for stability.

The creature beneath them turned into a twenty foot long, five foot wide crocodile.

"Run." He responded, grabbing her hand and jumping down from the crocodile. It thrashed and turned to face them, almost running towards them. Hermione saw other Crocodiles surrounding them, all even bigger than the one before.

One snagged her dress with it's teeth, causing her to almost fall forward into the mud, but Jack caught her in the air. They both scanned the area for possible escapes, but they were completely surrounded by the monstrous reptiles.


	5. Clever Escapees

Jack pulled out his sword, batting away at the crocodiles that leaped toward them. All of the reptiles hissed, and started to battle one another over Jack and Hermione.

Their attention was turned to a few gunshots from an approaching group of people. The crocodiles scattered about, fleeing at the sound of the guns. The people drew closer, most on foot, but a few on horseback. Hermione recognized the one in front almost instantly to be Lord Beckett.

"Arrest this man for unlawful acts of kidnapping, deceit, and destruction of company and military property." Beckett ordered.

Hermione found herself standing between Jack and the others.

"Luv, what are you doing?" He whispered to her from behind.

"She's just in shock, some aftermath kidnapping trauma, maybe hit her head?" Beckett announced.

"No, he's innocent. I ran off, he didn't kidnap me."

"Oh, don't listen to her, Governor, she's a woman. What does she know?" Tomas sneered.

"Why you little-" She charged up to him, hand prepared to slap the soldier silly, but two guards blocked her path.

"Come along, miss Granger." One of the guards approached her, and she crossed her arms defiantly. He shrugged and scooped her up, resulting in her kicking and trying to wiggle out of his grasp along with yells of protest.

When Jack saw her struggling, he wasn't sure how to react wisely. "Let her go!" He yelled, reaching out to her but another guard punched Jack in the stomach. Other guards placed chains around his wrist, and shoved him over towards the group.

The guard lifted Hermione up and placed her in front of Beckett on his horse.

"All nice and comfy for the ride?" Beckett asked her in a taunting tone of voice. She shot him a warning look, causing him to just smile slyly.

Once they'd arrived at the camp, the moon was plenty overhead and the campfires all set up. Soldiers marched around, polishing swords, feeding horses, washing boots and such. But Hermione felt lonely sitting in front of the fire. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, wondering why it was cold there. It was never supposed to be cold in the Caribbean. But her mind was spinning with thoughts of the pirate who had saved her life several times earlier in the day.

She couldn't help but blame herself at times, but the things she could have changed would have ended in them never meeting in the first place. Right now, he was probably sitting in one of the tents surrounding her, probably chained up to a post or tied in a chair.

She paused for a moment, mentally slapping herself for being so careless and vulnerable. She was a highly respected British witch for goodness sakes! She was to remain focused at all times, no emotions allowed. Period.

But even still, she couldnt help but have the arrogant pirate pop up in her mind now and then. There wasn't much she could do now, was there? Maybe she could use magic to create a diversion and sneak him free, but she couldn't risk exposing herself.

"Miss Granger," Beckett came up behind her, wry smile in place, "You'll be sharing lodgings with me tonight."

She stood up immediately and gave him a stern look.

"Well, we had to put the prisoner somewhere, no?" His grin deepened upon seeing the now stunned expression on her face. "Just be glad we haven't fed him to the crocodiles... Yet..."

She plumped back down on the tree stump she was sitting on, afraid for many different reasons. Firstly Jack's well being, second she had to rely on wandless magic, and thirdly the fact that she now had to share a bunk with Beckett. She shivered at the thought.

Hermione woke up, the shadows from the fire outside dancing on the fabric of the tent. She sat up, looking beside her to see Beckett snoring a foot or so away.

She gently pushed the sheets off of her before cautiously kneeling over the sleeping nobleman. With one leg over, she accidentally stepped on a piece of paper, making a noise as it crumpled beneath her. She cringed and looked up at Beckett for any sort of reaction, and none seemed evident. She took in a deep breath to calm herself before lifting up her other leg.

He squirmed a moment, he turned onto his back before continuing to snore noisily. She let out a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding. With one last attempt she managed to climb over him, taking one last look at the paper he'd slept next to. Picking it up, she held it in the direction where the light would hit it, allowing her to see.

It was an execution sentence. She continued to scan the paper. It was for Jack! Without thought, she stuffed the paper into the pocket of her dress, planning on disposing it later.

She peeked out the opening of the tent, to her advantage the watch guards had fallen asleep, saving her the work of putting them to sleep with magic.

She crouched down while exiting the tent, just to stay on the safe side. She quickly made her way over to her tent, stopping in her tracks to see Thomas standing watch outside the front. Quickly she divulged a simple plan, only a small amount of magic involved.

Knowing he'd be easy to fool, she simply just walked up to him.

"Hello madam, may I ask your business?"

"My business is none of your concern, Mr. Thomas, now stand aside."

She tried to casually walk around him but he blocked her path.

"I'm afraid I must insist. State your business." He said, this time more assertively.

Hermione sighed and pulled out the execution papers from the corset of her dress, "I am to discuss further accusations with the prisoner. Beckett's orders. Oh, and by the way, that was a nasty move when YOU were the one to let the horses loose earlier, right? That was you, wasn't it? I'm sure the governor wouldn't take too kindly to that..." She was blackmailing him.

Thomas rolled his eyes, "Very well..." He grumbled, stepping aside.

She smiled defiantly before proceeding into the tent. Jack was asleep against a wooden pole, his hands chained above his head.

She smiled sadly and knelt down beside him, shaking his shoulders to wake him up.

He slowly woke up, but then snapped awake when he saw her there. "What- what are you doing here, luv? You need to get out of here before they see you." He told her urgently.

She ignored him, pulling out a key she'd taken from beneath Beckett's pillow earlier.

"I'm fine. I don't need your help." He said, trying to maintain his pride.

"This is me repaying a debt, I'm not helping you." She told him, unlocking his chains whether he liked it or not.

They unlocked with a click, he pulled his wrists to himself before massaging them. She went back to the entrance of her tent, and whispered a sleeping spell towards Thomas, ending in him falling backwards unconscious.

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Jack didn't notice, and was relieved to see he hadn't.

She waved for him to follow before exiting the tent. He stayed close behind her and followed her into the jungle. He must have missed her grabbing a torch, because she had one now to light the way through the jungle.

Jack unlatched his compass from his belt and opened it to see it point strait ahead. Walking forward, he passed Hermione only for the arrow to change direction swiftly. He lifted his head up and turned to see her right behind him, right where the needle pointed. Shaking it a few times, it ended in the same outcome. But why was it pointing to her?

Although he wouldn't admit it at loud, but he was developing feelings for this girl. What was it about her that made her so interesting? So appealing? He walked in a circle around her, just to make sure. And sure enough, the needle stayed pointing to her. Was she really what he wanted most?

She noticed he seemed uneasy; distracted, and gave him a quizzical look.

"This way looks nice, doesn't it?" He walked quickly left, arms swaying at his sides.

"Let me see that." She demanded, taking it from his hands and flipping the top up with a snap. He leaned over, jaw shifted as if it would enable him to see better. It began to spin constantly and swiftly without fail. She shut the compass, "Its broken."

"Is NOT." He defended. Why did everyone always jump to the conclusion that it was broken?

"Then we must be near the equator, it's acting odd." Hermione reasoned to herself.

He snatched it back with a frown, "It must not like you..."

Although she didn't understand his sudden change in attitude. She had to jog a bit to keep up with his stride. She was suddenly concerned by his newfound bi-polarness.

"Just so you know, I have a particularly supreme sense of direction that would make even the great Ponce De Leon green with envy, darling, and in case you've forgotten I am Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"

She looked down, shaking her head hopelessly. "We're doomed." She whispered to herself, following this man into the dense jungle, only finding their way with a single lantern and a broken compass.

Every once in a while, an unidentified creature or two would scuttle across her path, always keeping her alert and focused. Jack, on the other hand, was mainly concerned with the gnats and mosquitoes that he seemed to attract all too easily. Every six seconds, she would hear the telltale sound of skin on skin, him slapping his forehead. When he retracted his hand, a line of goo stretched from his face. He jumped, frantically waving his hand in the air in front of him to get rid of it.

Hermione squinted forward, furrowing her eyebrows in the process. "Are those... Lights I see?"

Jack paused, calmly wiping his bug gut covered hand on his coat before using said hand as a visor to see. "Indeed. Unless we've come across an endangered species of fire-fireflies..." He mused, imagining the thought.

"No, they're torches you idiot. Come on." She said, peering over the foliage to the cleared out space in the distance. Trudging through the plants and thick vines that lay haphazardly about on the jungle floor, Hermione approached the mysterious area in shock.

"Jack Sparrow." She turned, hands on her hips. The pirate winced, knowing he had done something wrong. "This is the camp! We've just gone in a complete circle!"

He waved his hands about silently, motioning for her to stop talking. "And we can get out of it as long as you keep quiet, darlin."

She came closer so that she could still talk comfortably without concern of being heard. "You said you knew where you were going."

"Ah ah ah, I said no such thing. I did say, however, that I have a particularly adapted sense of direction which in respect is an unreliable opinion of sorts. Savvy?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing in an unpleasant way that he was right in an odd- yet reasonable sense. "Never mind that. Just, where do we go from here?" She sighed, looking up at him impatiently.

Jack's kohl-lined eyes searched around the perimeter of the camp for a moment before lighting up. "Follow me." He said plainly, mischievous grin in place. Of course, Hermione didn't object. She had no room to argue, and besides, if they were to get captured again, she wouldn't be the blame for it.

He crouched down, looking cautiously around the unmonitored campsite for any of Beckett's men. He ducked behind a rather large pot, big enough to fit an entire person. They crouched down, peering over the edge to make sure the coast was clear.

Hermione studied Jack's eyes, taking note of their direction before trying to spot what it was he was looking at. Their eyes stopped at a group of horses that sat on the ground, reigns tied to a horizontal post.

"No, Jack, absolutely not." She said, shaking her head.

"Come now, where's your sense of excitement?" He asked, lips pulled back in a smirk to reveal his teeth, a few of which were bronze and silver.

"Don't you think it's a little... dangerous?" She questioned, looking worriedly back at the snoozing creatures.

"Not to worry." He assured her, standing slowly, and walking towards the horses. Hermione followed, having no other alternative at this point.

The horses woke upon their arrival, but to Hermione's relief, they didn't seem to care. Jack leaned over a barrel to the side, stuffing his pockets with horse treats, mainly apples and carrots. Hermione approached a white horse cautiously, petting it on the snout. She could tell by the way it nudged her hand, it enjoyed her touch. She perked up the courage to sit down beside it in the hay, stroking the beautiful creature's neck and snout.

She looked up upon hearing a sudden series of crunches to see a black horse eating an apple. Being occupied by the horse a moment ago, she had completely forgotten Jack was there let alone their current situation. Jack came to Hermione, untying the white horse in front of her while handing it a carrot.

"Alright luv, upsy-daisies." He said, grabbing her by the waist and holding her up so that she could climb onto the tall horse. He the mounted his own, and she eyed his movements, copying him as he grabbed the reigns. Her horse shuffled its feet nervously, making her grip tighten.

"Jack... I'm not to sure about this..." She said, uneasy about being on top of a large and potentially dangerous horse.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He said, gently tugging on his reigns to make the horse trot slowly forward. Hermione breathed out slowly, before following him down a cleared jungle path and out of the campsite.

**[I do believe an Author's Note is in order here. There is something I wanted to point out; I'm really stressing that this is BEFORE the movies. In case you hadn't picked up on it, this was back when Barbossa was Jack's first mate, which makes Jack in his mid-twenties. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. So please review, leave comments, questions, and ideas in the review section because I love hearing from you guys!]**


	6. MotherAPearl

After it felt like a safe enough distance from the camp, Jack allowed Hermione to take the lead. Mainly because it was a strait on path. The moon was directly overhead, and things seemed much more calm on the cleared out walkway.

On either side of the path, there was a wall of vines and banana trees of the sort. The jungle was so thick you couldn't see ten feet through it. Every so often, Hermione would flinch upon the howl of a nearby monkey.

Jack leaned forward, holding a treat up to the horse's mouth, which it gratefully accepted as it continued to follow Hermione's horse.

"Jack?" He looked up upon hearing his name. It was, of course, Hermione. She was leaning forward on the horse, looking tiredly into the distance. "How much longer, do you s'ppose?"

"Almost there." He said for what felt like the tenth time that night.

"But you said that two hours ago..." She whined, turning to face him.

"Does that answer your question?" Jack asked, motioning gracefully ahead. She turned to see the end of the pathway, which was sand and black mixed with silver waters dead ahead. Looking down, she finally noticed the sand integrated in with the jungle that was now fading away.

Jack looked down, seeing a particularly large Anaconda slither across his path. His horse noticed it as well, skidding to a halt and standing momentarily on it's hind legs. Jack held on by it's neck, not wanting to grab too eagerly at the reigns. The horse immediately picked up speed, causing Hermione to panic as it ran towards her.

Jack tugged on the ropes, making his horse stop, but it was futile. Hermione instinctively tugged on the reigns as Jack's horse ran out of control. Her horse took off as well, startled by this unknown urgency.

They finally passed the end of the jungle, being surrounded by a wide sandy beach. Hermione was finally able to steady her horse, it now stomping it's feet happily in the tide.

Jack calmed down his horse by distracting it with another treat, which worked wonderfully. His black horse paused, taking a break in the sand. Looking up, Jack watched Hermione as she sat atop her beautiful white horse, the starry moonlit sky reflected onto the dark midnight waters. Hermione smiled wide, taking in the view, breathing in heavily the crisp ocean air.

He noted how she tucked her hair behind her ear on one side, looking back down at her horse and running her fingers through it's mane of white hair. Her horse continued to stomp through the shallow water, curiously watching the water splash back up into the air in little white dots.

Coming back to reality, Jack on his horse trotted up beside her. "Alright, we best be on our way."

She nodded, tugging on the reigns to continue. He took the lead, the horses galloping at a quick pace along the beach. He knew that as long as they stayed along the coast, they'd come across the Pearl eventually.

Minutes passed, dissolving into an hour, and by now it was probably three in the morning.

"Oh, come luv, only a little bit longer." He reassured her for the fourth time that night, but she stayed put, shaking her head no defiantly.

"My horse is exhausted, can't you tell? And I'm even more exhausted." She complained, sliding off the side of the horse and standing beside it.

"Alright..." He sighed, dismounting his own horse and coming to her. She was taken aback when he lifted her up in his arms. She shoved and squirmed in protest, "No no no no no, you put me down! Do you hear me? Put me down!"

He smiled smugly, only increasing her ire. "What did I do to give you such hatred for me?" He asked, then seeing and feeling her relax, she was thinking. With his hopes, wondering the same.

He carried her back over to his horse, holding her up so that she could climb on top of it. Once she was situated, he pulled himself up behind leaned forward on the horse's neck, exhaustion now almost overwhelming, and not long after she found herself succumbing to the constant threat of sleep. Her eyes closed, listening to the sound of the crashing waves, the sound of the horse trotting, and Jack's gentle humming.

Jack looked down every once in a while, watching the young girl as she slept in front of him, her arms being used as a pillow while she leaned on the horse. She truly is beautiful, he told himself. Her soft brown curls bouncing with each trot of the horse. She had just the perfect amount of freckles on her nose and cheeks as well.

What was it about her that drew him to her? She seemed to have a prudent disgruntle for him, and he wondered where it came from. Perhaps she was just being stubborn, but either way, he could easily tell she had trust issues. It seemed as if when he looked into her eyes he saw himself. He could sense her innocence. How she was too young to have experienced any of the darkness had. He decided right then that he would do anything he could to conserve that innocence she had, because it was a rare trait to find. He would protect her against the odds.

"Jaaaccckk." A voice broke out in the distance, catching his attention. Jack followed the voice, seeing the glint of torches in the distance. He recognized one Hector Barbossa stepping over the tall roots toward him.

"Jack, what 'ave we found?" Barbossa asked upon noticing his Captain riding a horse, an unfamiliar girl sleeping in front of him.

"Shhh, will you not keep quiet? You'll wake her." Jack told him.

"I see... Well I'm sure we're all glad to have ye back!" Barbossa said with a tone of sarcasm that flew right over Jack's head.

"Now which way to me Pearl?" Jack asked, scanning around and seeing his beloved ship in the distance. "Ah, I see. Come come, we don't have all day, mate." He rushed Barbossa who really didn't need any rushing at all, really.

Jack followed him through the remainder of the jungle, across the moonlit beach. Once in front of the ship, he dismounted one last time, carrying Hermione off and onto the landing ramp of the Black Pearl.

Jack took her into his cabin and set her down in his bed. He took a moment to watch her while she slept, brushing his hand through her hair for a moment and smiled.

He couldn't understand the emotions that were affecting him, he'd never experienced anything like it before.

"Did you get what you went in for?" Barbossa asked from the doorway.

"No, but I have something better." Jack smiled, reaching into his coat pocket and retrieving a merchant route map he had stolen from one of the soldiers earlier in the day.

"Then, do we have a heading, sir?" Barbossa asked, a new found excitement present in his voice.

"East, north east at that. The East India Company is in town, so our heading would preferably be east rather than west because all west of our current location is land. It's only common sense if you think about it."

"So we're headed east?" Barbossa asked, just making sure.

"That's what I said." Jack retorted.

As time passed, Jack thought about her from his position at the wheel and how perfect she was.

* * *

It was all dark. She was in a room. The walls made of stone and floors a cold concrete. Malfoy Manor. Hermione sat up and grabbed her arm, it stung like mad. When she looked up she saw snatchers appear in the room. One gave her a dark look and said,"Ello beautiful." She remembered him from the woods. She tried to back away but there was a wall there. She tried to run away but as soon as she did she was chained to the wall. He was coming closer. Suddenly the snatcher turned into Bellatrix. Hermione started to kick and scream.

Hermione started to kick and scream in the bed as strobe like images flashed in her head, memories from the war, "Get away from me! No! AHHHH!"

Jack panicked, sitting up from the sofa and ran to her on the bed, trying shake her shoulders to snap her out of it. She was having a nightmare and he was deeply concerned by the intensity of her screams.

With one swift movement, her fist flew up and punched him once square in the nose, sending him reeling to the foot of the bed. She opened her eyes and gasped.

Jack sat up and clenched his nose, "What was that for, luv?" She realized she punched him in the face out of reflex.

"Oh Merlin! I'm so sorry are you alright?" she grabbed his shoulders apologetically. "How did I get here?" She asked, looking about his cabin.

"I couldn't just leave you out there, now could I?" Jack regarded her patiently. She was lost in thought. And even though she wouldn't admit it, she liked being there. She liked Jack.

"I'm sorry I punched you. It's a reflex." she said with a weak smile.

He returned a smile,"A little jumpy are we, luv? Quite the nightmare if I don't say so myself." He commented, gingerly feeling his throbbing nose.

The young witch nodded and pushed herself back so that she would lean against the headboard.

"If ye don't mind," Jack stood up and collected his coat an hat, "I'll be checking up on the ol' crew."

She nodded, staying in bed to reflect on her situation. The telltale tipping of the room and swaying of the furniture alerted her to the fact that she was indeed on a ship of the sort. Recalling the information from yesterday, she gathered they were on Jack's ship. He must've found it when she was asleep.

At this point what he also didn't know was if her next actions were what she SHOULD do against what she WANTED to do. There was a difference.

In a situation like this one, involving the fact that you just woke up in an odd place near a stranger who happens to be at least five years older and in a whole other century for that matter with no familiarity to any surroundings whatsoever, any normal person would scream and run for their life. On the contrary, Hermione being fully aware of taking care of herself could handle a bunch of muggles like fire ants. Especially when they didn't have modern weapons.

For once she made the decision to not do what she should do. She wanted to be there on the pirate ship. She wanted to have a new adventure, exploring the eighteenth century for that matter! And Jack most of all. A part of her always wanted to be beside him. But why?

She stood from the bed, her eye on a collection of books atop a chair opposite of the room. She didn't recognize the titles, being mostly unread. If they weren't read, then why did he have them?

She brought the colossal books back over to the bed and spread them out. Most were of either navigation or famous explorers. Opening the dusty book, the font was in an inconstant pattern, most likely from underdeveloped press machines. Or did they even have those back then?

This particular book seemed to have information, mostly inaccurate though. While skimming the book she picked up a paragraph claiming that the earth was flat. She smiled at this. Boy wouldn't she take joy in proving it wrong, but it seemed she didn't have the right proof.

Back then anyway, you could say something as ridiculous as unicorns being real and they would believe you.


	7. Catch That Sailor

Jack stood at the wheel, the young girl captured his mind it seemed. No matter how hard he tried to shake the feelings away they always returned, to the point where he thought he may be going crazy. Barbossa could tell, too. He could read Jack's emotions for the girl, and could only sense trouble.

"Jack, I swear, the lass is some sort of trouble. And it's bad luck to have a woman aboard a ship, ye know. I say we drop 'er off at the next port, give'r some money to last and forget this all even happened." Barbossa strongly suggested in his gruff and unpleasant tone.

Jack rolled his eyes, it wasn't the first time his first mate had brought this up. Jack turned to walk away, waving his hand dismissively, "Now if anyone else were talking to me like that I'd be convinced they'd be selling something. But that's beside the point. Hector, nothing bad is going to come of this, she's just a girl."

"Not to you. And since when did Jack Sparrow ever care about anyone other than hisself?" Jack winced at his words. Giving up, Barbossa walked away, pulling out his canteen and mumbling a few choice words to himself.

"Calm yer heels, I've told you time and time again, you're jumping to conclusions that will end us in more trouble than we wouldn't be without even having worried accomplished, mate. So it would be deemed superfluous even if it were to be a situation cautioned over. Savvy?" Jack always had a clever way of speaking that intrigued yet confused most. He dismissed Barbossa's comments from his mind, returning to his usual joyous self.

Jack flounced about the deck, coat-tails flapping in the breeze as he ordered crewmen about. He then had to double-take upon noticing brown curls in his peripheral vision, Hermione. She was walking up the steps and onto the upper deck, now in conversation with Barbossa.

Jack turned away, unsure wether it was too soon to talk to her or not. He covered his mouth with his hand, exhaling a few times, checking his breath. Not too bad, he shrugged.

"Cap'n?" A rather annoying voice broke out beside him. Jack looked in the crew member's direction, wincing upon noticing it was Catastrophe Shane. The most useless and clumsiest pirate in all the seven seas.

"What ya *hiccup* gawking at, Cap'n?" The man asked, fixing his hat that was entirely too big for his head, swaying a little.

"Gawking?" Jack asked, "I'm not gawking at anything. Nope, no one's gawking here." He must've been staring at Hermione without realizing it.

"Wha's 'er name, she's mighty purty." Shane asked, leaning dreamily on the mop in his hands, both of them now watching Hermione admiringly.

"Her- her name is none of your concern, Shane. Now get back to swabbin' you ungrateful tortoise." Jack said. She's all mine, he thought. No one else can have her.

Snapping out of it, he perked up the courage to approach this entrancing girl. She was sitting on the railing at the upper deck, over looking the sea and the occasional island they would pass by.

"Morning, darlin'." He grinned, standing beside her. Her brown curly hair was flowing perfectly in the wind, to the point where he was tempted to just reach out and touch it. But he refrained.

"Morning..." She echoed, smiling a small smile.

"How bout that little fiasco earlier, eh? What was that about?" He asked, leaning on the rail beside her.

He noticed her smile fade quickly. "Don't worry about that. It happens all the time." She said looking sadly out to sea, trying to force the bad memories away.

"Why?" He asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Um, it's no big deal." She tried to switch the subject. "Say, you're fairly young to be a captain. Plenty of the pirates here are far older, if you don't mind me saying so." She observed. He only seemed maybe, twenty seven. And Hermione, she was going to turn twenty one in September.

"Well, considering I am a Pirate Lord, madam, I get a lot of respect." He said, straitening his back to look superior.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at his silly behavior. "And how does one, as you say, become a Pirate Lord?"

"Well," He began, smiling. He loved talking about himself. "The title runs in the family. For example, my grandmama was a pirate lord along with my pa."

"Really?" She was surprised it was that easy. She assumed one must pass at least some sort of initiation. "And what's the pirate life like? Plenty of adventures, I assume?"

"Guts and glory, tha's all it is. But if there's one thing I love about being a pirate, it's freedom." He smiled, recalling his childhood adventures. "Tell me, doll, do you believe in magic?"

"I do." She said, trying to hide a smile and failing at it.

"Really?" He mused, "For what circumstances? Or- or experiences?"

She paused, twisting her lips in thought. First of all, she couldn't back out of the conversation, and she needed to severely filter her thoughts. If she said the wrong things, she could end up burned at the stake. "Well, my neighbor was rumored to be a witch. She turned my cousin into a newt." She lied, hoping he'd believe her tall-tale.

He cringed in response, imagining life as a newt. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"You know," She bit her lip to conceal a smile, kicking her feet on the edge of the ship, "I feel like I can tell you anything..."

He smiled luminously. Those were points, right? "Glad to hear it, lovie."

* * *

Aboard the Pearl, the sun was setting, and rumor buzzed about the ship that they were nearing a merchant vessel. To do what pirates did. Right now, Barbossa was at the wheel and Jack in his cabin, plotting charts. As for Hermione, she remained on the bottom stair on the deck, watching the crew hop about with immense fascination.

She was trying to memorize their names. First, there was Billy Turner, AKA Bootstrap Bill. She had spoke to him earlier, seeing as he didn't seem to be like a pirate at all, which made her curious. And her suspicion was correct, in fact. He wasn't a pirate at all, just a man who wanted to return to his wife and child back in North Carolina.

Then, there was Pintel and Reghetti. Two rather odd sailors, she observed. Pintel was decently short, but chubby. His hair was long, but severely thinning. His best friend, Reghetti, was just the opposite. He was tall and thin, with a wooden replacement for his left eye.

There was also Catastrophe Shane, who was tied to the mast half the time so that he would just stay out of the way. Rumor had it, he was so drunk, half of his brain consisted of rum. He was rather small, could never walk strait, and wore clothes about four sizes too large. He was constantly tripping on other crewmen, bottles, ropes, or anything else that existed.

There was a man, Gunner, who was pretty normal for the most part. He was older with ratty white hair, a twisted nose, and many wrinkles, but don't let that deceive you. From what Hermione noticed, he was one of the most hardworking of the crew. He could lift the anchor all on his own. His nephew, Bushwhacker, wasn't much different either. Bushwhacker was rather attractive, really. About Hermione's age, he had shoulder-length blonde hair that was tied back and wore a red plaid farm shirt. He also had a very thick southern accent mixed with English, which often caught her off guard.

The first mate, Barbossa, was what someone in the future would call a 'ginger'. He wore a regal, long grey coat, along with a large black, feathered hat. Hermione didn't receive a very pleasant vibe from him either, but as long as Jack trusted him, who was she to question?

Speaking of Jack, she found him the most intriguing. She could get lost in his dark brown, coal-lined eyes. She shook her head, trying to remove those thoughts. But still, she had a hunch he felt the same about her, as well. He was too nice to be a fearsome pirate. Or at least, around her he was nice. Earlier when they were talking, she want to spill every emotion to him. She wanted to tell him everything. Her magic, the war, Harry and Ron, her coming there from the future, everything. She had such a sudden spur of trust to him, it was almost scary. Was this a crush? She couldn't tell. She hadn't felt this much emotion for a single person ever before. Why him? Of all people!

"British vessel due North East of the horizon! Drop sail and haul anchor ye blabbering bildgerats!" Barbossa howled from the wheel.

Soon enough, Jack burst from his cabin, flinging the doors open with such excitement they bounced off the walls and shut themselves. He approached Hermione, walking quickly up the steps behind her. She stood, following him.

"What's happening?" She asked Barbossa, almost frightened.

"Piratin'!" He said, teeth showing in a feral grin.

"All to the cannons!" Jack shouted, causing a flock of crewmen to crowd down the steps to the cannons.

Barbossa left the wheel, allowing Jack to take over, but Jack stopped him short. "One moment, Hector."

He turned to Hermione, hurriedly grabbing her hand and ushering her down the steps. She followed without hesitation. "Where are we going?" She asked as he lead her down to his cabin.

"Listen, darling, I need you to stay put. Can you do that for me?" Jack asked, smiling a little.

Hermione's eyes looked upward upon a sudden thud on the deck up above before meeting his eyes again. "I guess so, yeah." She agreed, although unsure.

"Thank you, sweetheart." He smiled, turning and leaving the cabin.

All I have to do is stay down here... That can't be too hard, can it? She thought to herself, wincing upon hearing cannon shots, feeling the rumble of the floorboards and the shaking of the chandelier. She ran to the left side of the room, where she remembered the other ship to be, and she pressed her ear up against the side to listen.

Her brows furrowed upon hearing a strange whistle, that grew louder with each millisecond. Without further warning, the wall not seven feet away exploded, shards of glass and splinters of wood taking flight. She screamed and fell to her knees. A cloud of smoke filled the room from the cannon and it's remnants of debris.

She slowly stepped toward the hole in the wall, examining the damage. The gap was frayed along the edges, and about as tall as her. She looked out the hole, until a moving figure caught her eye. Was that? A man?

She backed away quickly when a man flung into the room on a rope, landing on the floor in front of her. A two more men piled into the room, looking at her with confused faces before pulling out their swords.

She screamed, scurrying backwards onto the bed, unable to think of better plan. The three men came closer at a tauntingly slow pace, swords raised. She grabbed the lit oil lamp from off the side table, not thinking of the consequences, throwing it at them. It hit one of the men, the oil drenching his shirt and the fire spreading across the rest of him. He backed away, falling out of the hole in the wall and into the dark waters of the night.

The other two turned their gazes back to Hermione, revenge of their fallen in their minds. She smiled weakly, hoping they'd be forgiving. She looked down, searching for a weapon of the sort. But all there was were little objects on the nightstand.

She backed up against the headboard, throwing anything and everything she could, grabbing a brush and hurling it at someone's head. She then weakly threw the pillow beside her, but it wasn't any more affective than one could imagine. Then it donned on her, a remembrance, more so. She flicked her wrist, and the man to the right flew back with such a force, he made a dent in the wall with his now unconscious self. She then turned to the other, smiling smugly as the man stood still in shock. She was about to cast a Confundus spell, when a gunshot echoed through the cabin, and the man fell to the ground, clutching his knee. Turing her gaze left, there stood Jack in the doorway, pistol aimed toward the man. Jack's arm lowered, stuffing the pistol into his belt and running over to Hermione.

"Are you okay, doll? Are you hurt?" He asked, examining her arm frantically. He looked around the room, seeing a gaping hole in the wall, a broken lantern along with two bodies on the floor.

"I'm alright." She said after a moment, regaining her Griffindor courage.

"That's it, luv. How bout you stick with me?" He offered, figuring she was safer that way. He stood, holding her hand as she climbed off the bed.

"Just in case." He said, grabbing a pistol from one of the drawers nearby and handing it to her. He wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her close to him, just in case something were to go wrong.

As soon as they stepped onto the deck, a sailor swiped his sword towards Jack, who was well prepared for the attack and blocked it. Jack let go of Hermione, pushing her behind him and out of harms way. Jack and the man continued to parry back and forth, until Barbossa ran the man through with his sword so that Jack could move onto the next one.

"Cap'n!" Pintel began, being continued by Reghetti. "The other ship is turning around! We've won!"

"Ah, that's more like it!" Jack cheered, still otherwise occupied by another sailor.

The remainder of the opponents jumped ship, swimming back to their own while the pirates raised their weapons in triumph. She smiled to him, feeling relieved. He, in turn, smiled back even more luminously.

Just at that moment, Jack was tempted to lean forward and kiss her. But he held himself back, afraid of what her reaction would be.

"Tortuga!" A short bald man yelled in the midst, causing Jack's ears to perk up.

Hermione stood back a moment, feeling overwhelmed by the surrounding pirates as they began to chant the word Tortuga repeatedly.

"Alright, gents, alright! Marty, I like your thinking." Jack spoke up, causing the pirate's to become quiet while their captain spoke. "Tortuga it is!"

"What's Tortuga?" Hermione asked Billy, who was probably the only pirate who wasn't happy to go to this mysterious place.

"It's a pirate port, along the North Haitian coast." He said mournfully.

"And why are you sad?" Hermione asked, sensing he wasn't happy. Then again, it wasn't very difficult to notice.

"A few months ago, Jack promised to take me back to my family, and Tortuga is where I started out." He shrugged, looking down at his feet. "My son, William, will be turning three soon. And now, all of this was for nothing."

"Gosh, I wish I could help. Is there anything I can do?" Hermione asked, always having felt sympathy for others.

"No, thank you. If Jack doesn't take me there, I guess when we make port I'll try another way." He said.

"And why won't he take you?" Hermione asked, tilting her head in question.

"He keeps getting sidetracked, you know? Distracted by other things." Billy sighed, "Well, I'm going below deck, gather my things for when we make port."


	8. It Be Tortuga!

"Land ho!" A pirate cried from the crow's nest, signaling the approaching island. The moon lay settled high above the ship in the calm night sky as Hermione stood on the upper deck, holding a spyglass to her eye. The young witch observed in wonder the bustling town in the distance as it was illuminated by hundreds of candle lights. Much different from the night lights in London, that was for sure.

She lowered the spyglass, giving her eyes a break from stressful squinting. Only a day had passed since their attack on the merchant vessel, and as soon as all the victim ship's valuables were brought onto the Pearl, it was time to get repairs. A gaping hole in the wall of the captain's cabin was highly unacceptable, that was for sure. And the crew was eager to be able to spend their newly stolen coins of the sort.

The way the crew had described it, Tortuga sounded awful similar to a Las Vegas paradise for pirates. She couldn't help but wonder if there was anyone in town who could help her find a way home. A gypsy maybe? She had no clue.

Her ears perked up upon hearing her name. She turned, seeing Jack talking to Billy at the base of the stairs. "...And if you'd stay here and keep an eye on Hermione for the night, I'll let you have the remainder of our trip here all to yourself, savvy?"

"Jack, you know very well that all I want is a trip back to North Carolina!" Billy countered with a hurt expression. "You made a promise to me, Jack. A word you should keep as a Captain."

Jack winced. He was right. "Billy, all I'm asking as that ye watch the little lass for the night, tha's all. Maybe later we can discuss your erm, situation." Jack began to walk back up the steps, right past Hermione and unaware that she was listening.

"Jack," Billy continued. "Don't you think YOU should keep her with you? After all, you would do a far better job of taking care of her than anyone else here."

"Don't I get a say in the matter?" Hermione approached them.

"See?" Jack's face lit up. "Doesn't she get a say in the matter? How dare you, trying to establish someone's lodgings without further consent." Jack pointed a finger in Billy's face accusingly.

"But-" Billy began, being interrupted by Hermione.

"I can take care of myself, thank you." She insisted. There was no way she needed to be babysat, especially by anyone she barely knows FOR someone she barely knew. Besides, wherever Jack was, she wanted to be, wether she'd admit it or not.

"Well, doll," Jack began, putting his arm around her and walking over to the railing, facing Tortuga. "It seems this town is no place for a lady, that is, especially one alone and unsupervised."

Hermione picked up his grimy arm from her shoulders using two wary fingers. "Like I said, I can manage. Or, perhaps I could stay here, on the ship."

"That would be rather difficult, don't you think? Considering that the Pearl is going in for repairs and you may just be surrounded by strangers." Jack pointed out.

Hermione huffed in irritation, crossing her arms in annoyance. "Well, what are the other options?"

"You could stay with Jack." Billy suggested with a smirk, knowing very well that was what the two were arguing over before. Back to square one, as they say.

"Who will be very preoccupied with very Captain-like things." Jack raised his chin in a 'captain-like' manner. "You can follow Billy, I'm sure he knows his way around."

Billy rolled his eyes. Jack was purposely trying to ensure that Billy would return by having Hermione with him. He most certainly wouldn't leave WITH Hermione to go back to North Carolina, now would he?

"I could *hiccup* keep an eye on 'er!" Catastrophe Shane approached, swaying from side to side in a drunken manner.

Hermione frowned. This guy couldn't keep a steady eye on road kill let alone a living person. She could sneak away in seconds and he wouldn't even know it! Only then did it don on her what she was thinking.

"I agree!" Hermione smiled with a sudden exuberance that threw all three men off guard.

"You do?" Jack asked, surprised and confused as to why she would prefer Shane over him.

"Yes. In fact, I think that's a wonderful idea." She walked over to the small, drunken pirate.

"Are you sure about this, miss?" Billy asked, still taken aback.

"No, no, no. I won't allow it." Jack shook his head, now wanting her to be with him. Why wasn't she fighting for him? "I know! You can stay with me!" He clapped his hands together. "There we go, problem solved."

It seemed at this rate she was never going to get her way. "Problem unsolved. And stop trying to control me. I should be the one to decide, not you." She poked him in the chest frustratedly.

"She's right, Jack. Let Hermione do what she wants." Billy agreed.

"That's Captain Jack. C-A-P-T-A-I-N Jack. Savvy. And as the captain what I say goes." Jack said. "And I say, you stay with me." He walked over to Hermione, standing beside her with a smile.

"Jack, this isn't fair." She protested.

"What's going on here?" Barbossa growled, approaching them.

"We're trying to figure out lodgings for Hermione while we're in Tortuga." Billy spoke up before the others.

"For goodness sakes, just leave 'er be, let 'er walk around the town!" Barbossa rolled his eyes, impatient. If anything, he would be happy to be rid of her.

"Thank you! Finally, someone who see's my way." Hermione smiled triumphantly.

"No, absolutely not. Or dear Hector here must've had too much rum for him to be speaking of all this nonsensical business. Aye? Hermione, you will stay with me." Jack lifted his finger, starting to walk away so that no one could argue. Billy was right, since Jack cared about her most, she would be safest with him.

"Jack, I'm going with Shane." She insisted.

"I'll take good care of 'er, cap'n." Shane added with a sincere smile, readjusting his hat.

Jack frowned noticeably, sighing deeply in defeat. "Alright. If that would please ye, your nims." He bowed slightly, an unpleasant facial expression in tact and walking down the steps and away.

"So, what exactly do you plan on doing while we're in town, Mr. Shane?" Hermione asked politely, trying to seem as innocent as possible. She couldn't run off to look for a magics help with HIM around.

"Well," He began, "I'm glad ye asked! *hiccup*"

"Because...?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when he didn't continue.

A snore emanated from the man as he continued to sway on his feet, his hat laying over his closed eyes. He had fallen asleep.

"Excuse me." She snapped Her fingers in front of the man's face in order to wake him. Yet, no reaction. He then snored again. Hermione rolled her eyes. Well, then again, running away would be easier than she originally anticipated at this rate.

She watched as Jack proceeded down the wooden plank and onto the dock, walking into town. Jack looked over his shoulder to her. She looked so perfect, she was everything he ever wanted in a girl. From her whiskey colored eyes all the way down the the way her curls bounced when she walked. Her accent was slightly different as well as her way of speaking, which he always found interesting. Last but not least, he was captured by her innocence. She was a girl from England who had never seen any darkness, who had never committed any crimes or seen any death. It was a trait he was so longing to preserve, to keep her happy. While walking down the street he smiled to himself, imagining her smile in the forefront of his mind.

"Cap'n? Are ye alright?" A crewman asked from beside him.

"What? Oh, yes very glad- gleeful, in fact!" Jack smiled, his eyes lighting up.

It was a rare occurrence for the crew members of the Black Pearl to see their Captain smile. She was changing him, and everyone could tell.

Hermione was snapped back into reality when one of the ship repairman began to put his arms around her. She screamed and fought instinctively.

"Put me down!" She protested. "Right now, I say!"

"Calm down, lassie. I ain't Gunna hurt ya. If you'd just get off the ship when I done gone told ya to then this wouldn't be a problem." His grip noticeably softened when Hermione stopped squirming. She understood. She had been entirely too enveloped in watching Jack that she hadn't even noticed the men come aboard. The man carried her down the gangplank and set her down on the dock beside Shane who was sitting on a barrel.

"Allo, Herminy." He greeted, tilting his head back to see her opposed to lifting his hat up.

She sighed. "Where to? You're the one who knows this bloody place so well."

"We can go there..." He said, facing the town, but not indicating any specific place.

"Sounds good." She shrugged, telling this was going to be a long night.

"The Captain gave me some money, *hiccup* just in case you wanted to buy somethin'." Catastrophe Shane slurred, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pouch of gold coins. "Sure be a lot." He mused, opening it and peering inside. The man stood up, swaying unsteadily on his feet.

"Let's go this way, it looks decent." Hermione suggested towards the left side of the town.

"Whatever you wants miss." He slurred, stumbling down the remainder of the dock. Hermione followed with some distance behind, prepared for him to trip and fall.

They reached the end of the dock and the beginning of the large town. It was much bigger than Port Royal, but far messier, she noted. Gun shots echoed from nearly every direction, some near, some far. The entire place was over-run by drunkards as well. No wonder the crew loved it there so much, with all the alcohol, the violence, wenches snogging every man in sight it was a man's paradise!

"Hey look, a tavern." He spoke up, pointing an unfocused finger towards one of the adobe buildings.

Hermione frowned in thought, looking at it, and debating wether to enter or not. "Well, Shane, I'm not much of a drinker, I must admit."

"Woah. You're a strange *hiccup* little man, ain't ya?" Shane laughed hysterically at his lame joke, knowing very well that he had called her a man.

"Oh, stop it, we're all laughing sooo much." Hermione retorted sarcastically. She stopped upon noticing Billy walking down the street. "Shane, look! It's Billy! Can we go over to him?"

She looked back to where Shane stood a moment ago, but now he was not there. Her eyes scanned around, stopping upon noticing Shane entering the tavern he had pointed out earlier. "Ugh." She complained, reluctantly lifting up her dress skirt to jog, following the oblivious man into the tavern.

Hermione peeked her head around the side of the doorway, she noticed everyone had their sights set on Shane, staring him down as he approached the bar. "Psst!" She called, but he was too intent on ordering a drink. "Psst!" She tried again, but he still paid no mind. Rolling her eyes, Hermione stepped all the way inside and awkwardly approached Shane due to the stares given by the other pirates.

"One tankard please." Shane mumbled to the bartender, holding up his index finger. The entire tavern burst into laughter, calling and crying out in hysterics.

"You don't belong here, neither a you." The bartender finally said.

"She's with me." Shane motioned proudly towards her with his thumb. The entire building burst into laughter yet again, causing Hermione to lower her face in embarrassment.

"Oh really, that's nice, she's with you. Is that right, miss?" Another pirate joked from the background, this time a few pirates fell on the floor, clutching their stomachs as they laughed painfully.

"Where's being that tankard I asked for?" Shane asked in all of the confusion.

"Why don't you and your girlfriend go and get ye's an ice-cream sunday!" The bartender joked yet again, banging his fist on the table within chuckles.

"I want my rum! I want my rum!" Shane hollered over the chaos.

"Here's your rum, Senior Loco!" A pirate yelled, smashing a bottle on the top of Shane's head.

Hermione gasped, standing up as Shane fell onto the floor beside her. This was too much. They were getting out of control. Now, the pirates were battling all over the tavern, and Shane was no where to be seen. She thought to herself, if there was a good time to disappear, then would be it.

She began to squirm through the crowd, searching for the exit. A bottle came hurtling towards her head, and she blocked it with a spell out of instinctive reflexes. She watched as the bottle changed direction with her spell, smashing into the far wall.

She snuck around to the exit, having side-stepped a few gun shots along the way, and got as far away from the tavern as possible.

She was now alone in the city, just as Jack and the others were trying to avoid. And thus having seen how quickly the violence starts, she was much more fearful. But, then again, she would be able to defend herself, right? She was in a war for crying out loud! Dealing with a few drunken pirates couldn't be too hard. Besides, now all she had to do was find Jack. Or Billy! At least with Billy she had a general idea as to where she was headed. She also knew that Tortuga was FAR more dangerousthan she had ever anticipated, what with burly scallywags, smarmy drunkards and snobby wenches roaming around, she couldn't trustanyone that she didn't know! In order to stay safe, she HAD to find Jack or Billy.

She turned, remembering which way her friend Billy, 'Bootstrap', had gone, and she followed the dirt road. Along the way, Hermione had come to realize that there wasn't a building in town that wasn't alcohol related. Bars and Taverns and Saloons and Pubs absolutely everywhere, and she was starting to lose count.

She flinched every time a gunshot sounded nearby, never knowing exactly where they were directed. Pirates and wenches crowded the sides of the streets, all leaning beside barrels or having fallen into a drunken stupor lying face down on the roof of a building. Either way, she was glad she didn't drink.

Billy! There he was, entering a hat shop? "Billy!" She tried to wave him down, but he didn't seem to hear her. Hermione jogged up to the entrance of the small hat shop and opening the door behind him.

He spun around upon her entry, never knowing who it could have been. "Ah, Hermione, madam. Where's Shane?"

"We got separated after a brawl of the sort in one of the taverns. Say, have you seen Jack by any chance?" She asked, wanting to be with him.

"Last I heard he was headed toward the Faithful Bride. It's a tavern a few blocks over. Shall I escort you?" He asked.

"No, no I should be fine. I made it over here, didn't I?" She pointed out. "What are you doing in the hat shop anyway?"

"They don't just do hats." He said, removing his boots from over his torso and handing it to the person behind the counter. "The bootstrap is broken."

"Ah," The person examined it. "Never can trust those little buggers, now can ye?"

"Alright, now I'm going to find Jack. Thanks for your help, Billy!" Hermione waved to him before leaving.

Once the door closed behind her, Billy noticed the person behind the counter was giving him a quizzical look.

"What?" Billy defended. "I barely know her."

Hermione continued warily down the dimly lit streets of Tortuga, lucky to have made it as far as she did without running into trouble. Not to mention the scowls given to her by all the people nearby, men and women alike. It was obvious she didn't fit in.

After being completely lost and having retraced her steps some four times, Hermione was relieved to have found the Faithful Bride. It seemed like one of the more mellow establishments in town, which she was thankful for.

She took another step towards the tavern when a large beefy hand appeared in front of her. Her eyes traveled from the hand that connected to an even more muscly arm, then to a burly pirate with a nasty snarl in place.

"Ey, Buckley, look a this one!" He called over his shoulder, his eyes locked on her.

His companion, she assumed, emerged from sitting atop a few crates of the sort, eyeing her in amusement. "She's a perty one." He tilted his head to the side.

"I think so, too, Buckley." The first one agreed. "Let's take her to the Captain."

Hermione stood there, frozen, unable to move, just like in her nightmares. She took a step back, her eyes moving back and forth between the two men, unable to keep up they approached her. With one quick rush of adrenaline, Hermione rushed forward in an attempt to push through the two men, but they grabbed her arms, holding her up in the air.

"Jaaackkk!" She screamed, flailing her legs in a feeble attempt to immobilize her attackers. With one quick kick to the jaw, the man called Buckley stumbled back.

The other set her down, but quickly wrapped one arm around her waist and used his over-sized hand to cover her mouth and muffle her screams. Little did he know, his hand was so large it covered her nose as well, preventing her from breathing. Hermione desperately tried to pry the man's hand off of her nose. She was suffocating. She attempted to mumble a spell under her hardly existing breath, but she couldn't.

Buckley sauntered over to her, confusion drawn all over his face at how she just seemed to give up so easily. Had she really run out of energy so fast?

"That's no way to treat a lady, mate." A familiar voice sounded from the side. Hermione's heart began to fill with a new found hope. Jack had out his sword, holding the tip at Buckley's neck. "Tell him to release her."

The man didn't budge, and Hermione's vision began to blacken from lack of oxygen. She whimpered as one last attempt to draw their attention back to her so that they could notice the fact that she wasn't breathing.

Jack snapped when he heard her whimper in distress, his hand now pushing the blade closer to Buckley's throat. "Release her."

Buckley gulped, instructing his friend slowly. "Put 'er down..."

The man released her, and she dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. Jack lowered himself, assisting her to her feet while still holding the sword up to Buckley's neck. "Now you two get out of here." Jack growled before the two of them scurried away.


	9. Twin Dalma

Without much thought, Hermione instinctively threw her arms around Jack's neck in a much needed hug. "You don't know how happy I am to see you!" She spoke in a high pitched, gasping voice.

Jack stood there, finally having recognized that her arms were around him, and he seized the opportunity to hug her back before she pulled away. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest, and he understood how traumatic that event had just been.

"Are you okay, luv? Are you hurt?" Was all he could muster up, fearful he could say the wrong thing.

"No." She shook her head beside his, nuzzling her face into his shoulder to savor the last moment of their embrace. "I'm fine." She pulled away, wiping a run-away tear from her cheek.

Jack's eyes then darkened in a remembrance. "Now, where in Neptune's sea is Shane? When I get through with him I swear I'll-"

"No, Jack." Hermione spoke up before he could say any more. "It wasn't his fault. Well, maybe a little, but please, don't punish him."

Jack sighed. She was so sweet, looking out for others. A real gentle heart, he thought to himself. He couldn't hold back an admiring smile that made her stomach seem to giggle. "Alright, luv. As you wish."

Hermione wiped another escaped tear from under her eye using her sleeve, and Jack wasn't entirely sure how to act. He wasn't used to really being around a woman that he cared for, let alone cheering them up.

"Let's get something sweet. Doesn't that sound nice?" Jack spoke up, suddenly cheerful.

"Like what?" Hermione asked, her eyes lighting up by his exuberance.

"Here, luv, I know just the place! A right fine candy shop is just down the street!" He said, motioning with his hands in said direction.

* * *

Somewhere in Paris, a figure waited in all black, a cloak and hood hiding them from the outer world. The figure lowered her hood and peered around the thick wooden pole the separated areas of the silenced pub, searching for the man she was meant to meet tonight. The building was nearly empty, the only sounds were of shuffling glass bottles and the crackle of a nearby fireplace.

She tapped her long fingernails on the table, impatient, her bright blue eyes seemingly glowing through the shadow of the hood. Soon enough, a tall man emerged from the doorway, stroking his thick curly mustache and flinging his cape over his shoulder majestically.

He approached the woman at the table, taking a seat across from her and kicking his boots up and onto the table.

"Feet down." The woman hissed.

He reluctantly obeyed, taking his feet off of the polished oak.

"Now," She continued, French accent prevalent. "The payment, please." She held out her hand.

The noble pirate reached into his spanish embroidered coat, retrieving a sack of gold and dropping it in the woman's awaiting palm. Even though you couldn't quite see her face, a wide grin seemed to appear. "So, Pirate Lord, Señor Villanueva. The papers? Have all of which been signed, by all the Spaniard pirates under your control as well?"

"Si." He spoke, reaching back into his pocket and pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment. "Every captain of the Spaniard fleet that rightfully deserves the Caribbean. I deserve the Caribbean." He spoke in his thick, Spanish accent.

She glanced over the papers, examining each of the signatures. "So, Jack Sparrow is the man I am after."

"Si." The Spanish Pirate lord nodded.

"And once he is dead, the Caribbean sea will belong to you, and only you? What will become of Spain?" She asked in her thick French accent.

"I will have an heir. But- I am the rightful Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, since all of the Spaniards originally claimed that land, you see." Villanueva explained. "But, I have only one question for you, Señora. How exactly will you dispose of Jack Sparrow?"

"I have a plan, that is not yours to be concerned of." She retorted bitterly.

"All of us Spaniard pirates owe you thanks, Señora Dalma." He said, tipping his hat and walking towards the exit.

"Although, I do ask one request." She stood. "I ask you keep a watchful eye on the Pantanto River. I do not want my sister Tia Dalma getting involved, especially because of her allegiance to Captain Sparrow."

"Si, Señora. I shall see to it that it is done." He concluded, walking out of the old pub and back into the night.

The woman sat back down, smile widening on her face as she eyed the bag of coins. She then reached into her sleeve, revealing a dagger. Holding the blade steadily, she slid it across her wrist, allowing a black liquid to spill from her wrist and drip into a black puddle on the ground.

Soon enough, the wound closed before her very eyes, and the puddle beside her began to bubble and churn like tar, large lumps forming. A person emerged from the puddle as if made from liquid tar. The wet goop began to harden, humanistic features becoming prudent. He was in the shape of a human, but looked as though he were made entirely out of hardened lava.

She stood in front of him, gingerly touching his makeshift face. "Now, my minion, I have a job for you..."

* * *

"A Right Fine Candy Shoppe..." Hermione read the sign aloud. "I guess you weren't kidding." She couldn't resist slipping a small chuckle through her teeth at the irony.

"Right this way, doll." He smiled, holding the door open for her.

Inside, the smell of cakes and pies were absolutely everywhere. The entire place was painted with faded swirls of pinks and oranges, yellows and greens, despite the chipping of the walls here and there.

A woman stood at the can v dy counter strait ahead, her hair a ghost white with bundled up curls that looked as though an old squirrel had decided to take a nap atop her head. "Allo folks." She greeted. "What brings ye in here?"

"Ah, just here for some sweets, Miss Meredith." Jack responded, plucking a rather large lollipop from the hands of a toy.

"Jack Sparrow?" She asked in awe. "I haven't seen ye in here since ye were, what, eight years old?"

"Nine, actually." He corrected. "I remember coming here all the time as a lad." He added, looking around dreamily.

"You always came here with Captain Teague, but now I see otherwise. Who's the pretty lassy?" She asked with a smile as she began to wipe down the old counter.

"Oh, how rude of me to not proceed with proper introductory words and phrases of sorts... This is Hermione." He introduced, putting his arm around her.

Hermione smiled weakly in response, feeling a sudden pang of nervousness. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasures all mine, miss. Always glad to meet a friend of Jackie's." She ended with a wink, making Hermione even more uncomfortable. "Oh, and Jack, you still like the coconut smoothies you used to get as a lad?"

"Do I ever!" He smiled, clapping his hands together and walking up to the counter. "You still 'ave 'em, right?"

"Don't you worry none, we still got'em." She assured him while preparing the smoothie kits.

"See anything you like, 'Ermione?" Jack asked, turning to her. She was marveling at the many different types of candy within a display case.

"Hm?" She asked, turning her gaze back to him.

"Do you see anything you like?" He repeated, locking eyes with her for a moment. He was so glad to be there, with her. There wasn't anyone he's rather be with. Jack smiled.

"What are you getting? I'll have whatever you are." She chirped, returning to his side. Hermione figured it was most polite to get whatever it was he was getting.

"Alright, sweet, I can get ye one a them." The woman from the counter nodded, pouring coconut juice into a container. "Would you like to do the honors, Jack? Like old times sake?"

"Absolutely." He smiled as Miss Meredith handed him the container. He then began to shake it vigorously, mixing the drink. Hermione smiled to herself as he seemed to struggle, biting his lip and furrowing his brow as he set on shaking the container as if his life depended on it.

"Ye know," He spoke, out of breath. "I recall in my reconciliatory recollection, of this being considerably less strenuous."

Miss Meredith chuckled. "That's prolly because you were a very energetic lad. There, now, that should be good."

"Aye." he nodded, setting the container heavily on the bar, glad to be done. "Say, have ye heard the news?"

"What?" The woman asked, smile on her face as she retrieved two glasses from under the bar.

"I am Pirate Lord of the Caribbean now." He said proudly.

"Oh, well of course I knew THAT. Every pirate in the Caribbean knows that." She stated.

"I don't understand." Hermione spoke up. "What is the purpose of a Pirate Lord?"

"My dear, how could ye not know?" Miss Meredith asked, taken aback. To them, it was probably as simple as ABC, Hermione figured.

"It's fine, Miss Meredith." Jack assured the woman, noticing that Hermione was being honest about not knowing. "You see, luv, a Pirate Lord is like a representative of all the Pirates in a specific area of the world, aye?"

"And how does one, as you say, become a Pirate Lord?" Hermione insinuated.

"Some earn the title by defeating the prior owner of said title, and others inherit it." Miss Meredith answered, handing them each their smoothies.

"Ah, thank you." Jack said, taking his. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"And, how many Pirate Lords are there?" Hermione continued with her questioning.

"Nine." The woman continued.

"And so," Hermione thought aloud, "If there are nine representatives of Pirates from all over, then there must be some form of secret congregation, right?"

"She's a very smart girl you have on your hands, Jackie." The woman observed. Most people didn't even know there WAS a congregation of the sort, and Hermione was able to figure it out within seconds.

"I sure do." Jack smiled to Hermione, admiring her. She, in turn, smiled sheepishly down at the ground, making his stomach to fill with butterflies.

Hermione reached out her hand to look at something when Jack noticed a fabric wrapped around most of her left forearm. What was she hiding?

Hermione had wrapped an old cloth around her arm before they had arrived in Tortuga, hiding the scar from Bellatrix that would forever haunt her. Hermione glanced up when she saw Jack's hand reaching for her arm, and she quickly moved it out of his reach before he could.

"What happened, Hermione?" Jack asked.

"It's just- I got a rope burn from one of the lines. But it's okay, it doesn't bother me." She lied, smiling at the end for effect.

Jack fell for it. "Oh, alright then." He shrugged.

"Almost midnight." Hermione spoke up, seeing a clock on the far wall. "We should be on our way."

"She's right." Jack agreed, standing up. He reached into his pocket making to retrieve some coins for the smoothies.

"No, no, Jackie. It was my pleasure." She approached him, giving him a hug as if they were family. "Besides, Hermione here helped us out wonders by figuring out the proper size for our sails." The woman said, hugging Hermione as well. "Y'all come back soon, now."

"I plan on it." Jack nodded, giving her a knowing smile before opening the door for Hermione.

She stepped out and into the street, the roads now quiet for the most part. A few pirates with wenches sat scattered about, but other than that the places were empty.

"Where to now, Jack?" Hermione asked, looking out over the empty square.

"I don't know about you, luv, but I say we catch up with Billy. He and I were planning on sharing a room at the Inn." Jack suggested, adjusting his hat.

"That sounds great." She said, feeling the tired weight start to set in.

"Alright, then. This a ways." He smiled, making left down the dirt road.

"Jack?" Hermione asked after a while. "I'm concerned about Shane. I mean, what if something bad happened to him?"

"Oh don't you worry about him, luv. In case you haven't noticed, the lad is tough is nails. Heck, he can fall strait from the crows nest and still be able to do it time and time again!" Jack laughed. "I swear, if anything he needs the learning experience."

Hermione shrugged. Maybe he was right. They continued down the dirt road, Hermione's eyes glued to the ground to avoid stepping on a broken bottle of the sort.

The dim street lights flickered in their cases, the buildings surrounding were mostly clay and wooden structures.

They approached the small, two story Inn with a wooden sign dangling over the door, a horse or two tied on the side of the building.

Jack opened the door, allowing Hermione to enter first. Inside, an elderly man with glasses waited by candlelight, standing over a rather large book. Although, he did not acknowledge their entry.

Jack walked further into the room, before turning and making sure Hermione was right beside him at all times. "Pardon me, sir." Jack announced himself. "As much as I hate tearing you from your lovely -erm book you have there, it seems we are looking for a Billy Turner. Would you be able to tell us which room he is in?"

The old man raised his head from the book, looking confused. "Who are you?"

"I am Captain Jack Sparrow, my good man."

"Oh. That's lovely." He complemented before turning his gaze back down to his book.

Hermione gave Jack a curious look, just as confused as he was. "Sir, the room?"

"Oh! Yes! The room. Here, I'll go get you a key. You need a key for the room to get inside, you see." The old man explained as he opened up a drawer, rummaging noisily inside it for a moment. He looked back up at Jack and Hermione, confusion returning. "Who are you?"

"I'm- We are looking for Billy Turner. What room is he in?" Jack asked again, growing impatient.

"Billy Turner? Oh, You mean Bill Turner! Oh yes. He's in room 28." The old man said with a toothless smile.

"Thank you, sir. Enjoy your evening." Hermione thanked him before making way towards the stairs, Jack following behind.

"...What a sweet couple..." They heard the old man mumble to himself, the both of them silently wishing that were the case.

"Here we are, room 28." Jack announced, knocking on the door and praying they had the right room. A moment later, nothing happened. Jack knocked again. This time, you could hear the ruffling of bed sheets and the creaking of the floorboards.

The clicks of several locks sounded, before the door cracked open to reveal Billy's exhausted face. "Oh, Jack. It's you. And Hermione?" He held the door open, allowing Hermione and Jack to enter the room.

It was a small room, at least in Hermione's perspective. There were two beds across from a large trunk, as well as a decent size window that welcomed in the silver moonlight. Other than that, the room was dark with the lack of candlelight.

"I only have a room for two." Billy said, scratching his head. What were they going to do with the bed arrangements?

Surely Hermione would get a bed, and Jack, he was the Captain, but Billy paid for the room and he was sleeping in the bed first!

"I'll have the floor." Jack offered, surprising Billy. This was very unlike him.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, feeling slightly guilty but knowing she wanted the bed. "I mean, you've slept on the sofa the entire time I've been here. How long has it been since you've slept in a bed?"

"Jack, you can have my cot. I can take the floor." Billy suggested.

"No, I will have the floor. I called it, didn't I?" Jack asked, laying down on the floor between the two beds. "Besides, ye never know just WHO may or may not have laid in that there cot. It could be infested with bedbugs, lice, AND gingivitis."

Hermione sat down on the bed closest to the door, sitting down and removing her shoes.

"Hermione, I think I should sleep there, it's safest for you by the window." Billy suggested honestly. Jack agreed, if anything were to happen, the person by the door should be most prepared for action.

She nodded, understanding the circumstances. She stepped over Jack who lay on the floor and made her way over to the bed beside the window. She laid down, adjusting her old feathered pillow and stared up at the ceiling. In her head, she replayed all of the events from earlier that evening, the good, and the bad. She noticed that her focus was on Jack almost the entire time. It was odd for her, really. Did she like him? Might she love him?

Everyone back home was either married or getting married. But not her. Harry and Ginny were married about two years ago, Ron and Lavender were engaged and already had a son AND a daughter. Luna and Neville were both married and worked as professors in Hogwarts. As for Hermione, she worked as a secret agent for the ministry, but it wasn't as action filled as one would expect. Most of the time, she was just organizing documents for a possible case. She hadn't had any time for herself, or for dating, and she was fine with it.

But now, she was having all of these thoughts and feelings for Jack that she had never encountered before. Usually in school the guys would like her, but she never carried any interests in return. And now, everything was all a new concept to her.

She continued to recall the war. The battle of Hogwarts. Hiding out in the forest all that time. It was miserable. The memory of Fred dying. She felt a tear wander down her cheek, dispersing on the cotton fibers of the pillow.

They were in one of the corridors, Harry and Ron by her side, Fred, George and Percy in the distance. She distinctly remembered George telling a joke, when a blast of orange flames and debris knocked her and her friends off their feet. The boom echoed throughout the surrounding hallways, temporarily leaving them unable to hear.

Hermione struggled to her feet, looking around to see that her friends were now on the defense, a new hoard of death eaters and abnormally large spiders crowding the small corridor. She looked over to Ron, who was pulling his limp brother out from beneath the rocks of a broken statue. Hermione forced her way to his aid, helping him pull Fred out. Not before long, did Ron realize that he was not alive. She couldn't hear him, but she could see her best friend's head being thrown back, mouth open in what she assumed was a heartbreaking scream. Harry then ran up alongside Hermione, pulling her to get feet, trying to tell her that they needed to get out of there.

Hermione opened her eyes. Had she fallen asleep all that time? She sat up, looking over at Jack and Billy. Both of which were fast asleep. She turned, looking out the window to see if the moon could indicate what time of night- or morning it was. By the looks of it, she must've been asleep for only a few hours, maybe three. That would make it about three am, she guessed.

Feeling wide awake, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she tried. She stood from the bed, walking over to the window and looking out. Beyond all of the dirt roads and the beaches were what felt like dozens upon dozens of merchant and pirate ships, all floating out in the harbor.

Looking down, her eyes widened and heart stopped upon seeing a person standing beneath the window, in all black, looking strait up at her. She ducked down from the window, suddenly feeling dizzy. More memories seemed to play over in her head, and she couldn't control it. She fell onto the ground, sitting up against the wall as it felt like a massive migraine were setting in all at once.

Hermione put her hands on either side of her head, for it felt as if she were spinning. More memories flashed through her mind, Beckett, the waterfall, the Panther, the horses in Puerto Rico all the way to when they were attacking the merchant ship. The memory of her using her magic against the sailors replayed in her head uncontrollably, and then everything stopped all at once.

She sat still, her breathing labored as she attempted to comprehend what had just happened. Was it the person? She peered over the ledge of the window to see that the person was no longer there.

Her eyes widened in fear. What just happened? Was it a magical being? Things were just getting weirder and weirder. The sooner they left Tortuga the better.

**[AU: I know it's been quite some time since I've updated, but that's because I found this chapter needed some changes, which shouldn't happen again. We are now getting into my main plot, and in case you didn't pick up on it, we have a villain now! Keep up the reviews if you please! Until next time :)]**


	10. The Lighthouse

Hermione woke up by the feeling of being shaken. She blinked her eyes open, vision slightly blurry. She jerked awake when she realized Billy was directly in front of her. She looked around, seeing she was still leaning against the wall beneath the window.

"Morning, Hermione." Billy greeted with a warm smile. "What are you doing over here?"

Hermione, still slightly asleep, didn't know how to respond. She looked around, still dizzy from last night's episode.

"Are you okay, miss?" Billy asked, grabbing her arm and peering into her eyes.

She still didn't respond. Her head felt as if it were spinning, now finding it's way to her stomach. "I- I think I'm Gunna be sick..." She groaned, clutching her forehead as if it would ease the pain.

Billy immediately shuffled to his feet, quickly moving to find a bucket of the sort. When he wasn't in her view, Hermione noticed Jack was not there. Where was he?

Hermione bent her knees up to her chin, her face in her hands as she tried her best to keep the sickness down. Billy returned, kneeling in front of her and setting the bucket on the ground and within reach, just in case. He lifted her hands from her face, resting the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You're very warm." He observed, retracting his hand. "Should I fetch a doctor?"

Hermione shook her head no, feeling too drained to speak. Soon enough, the door to the room opened, and a casual Jack stepped in, slice of toast in his mouth. In his arms was a particularly large bundle of muffins, bagels, bananas and other sorts of breakfast essentials. He stopped in his tracks upon noticing Hermione curled up against the wall.

"Jack, she's feeling pretty down." Billy announced, putting his hand on her shoulder supportingly.

"Oh, well that just won't do." He said, setting the pile of food down on a nearby table and making way to her. "What's bothering you, luv?"

"I'm fine." She managed to say, trying to remain strong in front of Jack. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was being dependent. She forced herself up onto her feet, no matter how much her vision clouded or her stomach protested. Hermione winced, leaning against the window.

Wait a minute, she thought. The person from outside! Ever since she had seen that person in the night she had felt as ill as ever. She jerked around, looking down to see no trace of the person from the night before.

"What is it?" Billy asked, peering over her shoulder and out the window.

"Nothing." She said, shaking it off. It must've been her imagination.

* * *

Hermione rolled her eyes, leaning against the back wall of the tavern and watching the pirates drink themselves into a coma. She had become irritated, to put it lightly.

"Jack, you said we'd leave an hour ago!" She approached him as he swayed unsteadily at the bar.

"Luv, you must have *hiccup* a rather large misconception of an hour." He said to her, voice unsteady.

She hadn't a clock in her possession, but she sure KNEW had been an hour. "Jack, please, let's go." She asked pleadingly, pulling on his arm.

With his other hand, he signaled the bartender for another drink, causing Hermione's innocent smile to turn into an all out scowl. "Fine." She said, turning and walking through a crowd of drunks toward the door.

Jack paused, watching her leave, his smile fading. He didn't want her to go. He stood up to follow, stopping, and eyeing the bottle in his hand. He set the rum on the counter, letting go, and turning to see Hermione had already left.

He stumbled to his feet, trying to focus his eyes that felt like they were rolling around in his head. He walked forward through the crowd, female hands grabbing at him from almost every direction. He shoved them all away, slowly regaining his consciousness. His foggy mind being replaced with a determination to find Hermione.

Jack leaned onto the door jab opening to the tavern, looking around the docks of Tortuga for the girl, but she was no where in sight.

He shuffled over to two pirates that sat drunk on the ground, holding kegs over their faces.

"Excuse me, gents," He leaned on a barrel beside them. "Have you seen a young lady just leave this place?"

"Which one? I seen plenty." The one on the right giggled.

Jack strained himself to speak, "Well," He held up his hand, motioning with it. "She has curly brown hair, a dress. Umm, very pretty."

"You be lookin' for a wench? There should be plenty inside that place." The one on the left grumbled, pointing towards the pub he had just come from.

The man on the right elbowed him in the ribs. "No, ye dolt! He's lookin' for his mum, I think?" He scratched his head trying to remember, squinting up at Jack.

"No, no no no. You don't get it, she's my- friend?" He paused, knowing that to him, she was more than a friend, but he needed to keep things in terms these men would understand. "She just left. She was not very happy."

"Oh, her! She done gone kicked over that there barrel, mate, on 'er way out, she did." One of the men pointed to a barrel on the ground.

"Actually-" the other one interrupted, "I don't think she kicked it at all. It kind of just... flew..." he mused, waving his hands in the air on front of him and examining them dreamily. "Like magic..."

"What did she look like?" Jack asked suddenly, sobering up quicker than ever before.

The two men looked to each other, squinting in thought. "I don't remember, do you remember?" One asked Jack.

Jack rolled his eyes, hiccuping. "You two are useless." He walked away, searching further for her.

Hermione huffed down the street, taking every turn, every street that caught her interest. She wandered down into a neighborhood, spotting a marina and a tall white lighthouse in the distance. She sped up, curious. She noticed how today, she felt much more comfortable and familiar with Tortuga, now having even aware of what NOT to do.

She past a group of swaying palm trees, nearing the lighthouse. As she got closer, she noticed it was beside a rather tall cliff.

She stopped about ten feet from the lighthouse, squinting up at the top where a light shone over crushing black waters below. The moon overhead illuminated the waves as well, as Hermione peered over the treaturous cliff down to the jagged black rocks at the bottom. She closed her eyes and backed away, afraid to get any closer.

Then she turned her eyes back up to the lighthouse. Hermione walked up the steps to the old door, turning the knob. The door didn't budge easily. She shoved her shoulder up against the door, and fell inside. She looked up to see the interior was no different from the outside, apart from a crumbling spiral staircase that lead all the way to the top.

"M'am, did you see that?" The witch's minion called from a distance, now having a false appearance, adittude, and life. "It's the girl traveling with Jack Sparrow!"

The woman spun around, looking in the area her servant was pointing. Hermione was shoving herself up against the door to the lighthouse, trying to get it open. The door flung inward, and she stumbled in, closing the door behind her. "It is she! In the lighthouse! Minion- I mean, Donavan, do you remember the plan?"

"Yes m'am, I do. Stow away onto the Black Pearl-"

"No no no no no, Donavan. I have a better idea." She said, wide grin becoming her face. "Follow me." The witch and her servant crept across the street, stopping in front of the cliff.

The witch came up behind Donavan, shoving her hands up against his back, and watching as he tumbled down the jagged hill. She looked over her shoulder, making sure no one had seen, before ducking behind a bush.

* * *

Hermione took a step, looking up to see if anyone else was present. "Hello?" She called, pausing for a response. Nothing. "Is anyone up there?" Nothing. She shrugged, walking eagerly up the rest of the steps and to the top of the lighthouse. There, at the peak, was a small room. The walls at the top were completely made up of windows, just the way one would expect.

A giant lantern was position beside a large mirror, reflecting the light out over the sea. She shifted the round mirror with her hands on either side, watching how the reflected light bounced around the room. She put it back in the place it was, letting go, and walking over to the abundance of windows. She walked along the walls, looking over the town of Tortuga and the people in the streets. On the other side everything was a dark shade of blue and silver with the ocean and the moon.

She peered down at the cliff again, head tilted curiously at an odd shape on the rocks that she hadn't noticed before. A seal maybe? As her eyes focused, the skin of the object was a cream color, much like hers. Her eyes widened in shock. It was a person!

She flew down the steps, sliding a little before regaining her footing and continuing down the rest of the way. Hermione urgently flung open the door and she ran around the corner to the edge of the cliff.

"Oh Merlin." She breathed. The person was in worse condition than she had originally estimated. He was contorted into an odd shape, most likely having fallen from the cliff.

She magically apparated to him, thinking this was a reasonable exception to her break from using magic. She knelt beside the man whose clothes were torn and tattered, a large gash on his forehead along with a lacerated arm. She placed her finger beneath the man's jaw line to feel for a heartbeat. After a moment, there was a faint pulse against her finger, and she breathed out a sigh of relief.

Jack walked worriedly past the marina, craning his neck to see past the tall palm trees. What was i thinking? He asked himself. Tortuga was probably the worst place for a woman wander alone. He then remembered the lighthouse. Maybe she had ventured there! He quickened pace, walking quickly towards it and opening the door, poking his head inside. "Hermione, luv?" He called. No response. He shut the door behind him, overwhelmed with worried emotions and regret.

I should have listened to her.

He then looked to the right, seeing a cliff. He peered over the edge, wondering if the seals were out tonight. His dad took him there once as a lad. He tilted his head to the side in curiosity, his eyes widening. It was Hermione! But who was she with? A man was laying down beside her, as he leaned over him, touching his neck. He immediately felt a rush of anger overcome him, reaching over and grabbing a rock, he threw it was far as he could. It landed on the rocks past Hermione and the man. She looked up upon the sound of the bouncing rock, then looking up to see where the rock issued from. She stood upon noticing Jack.

"Jack!" She called. "Jack, come down here! Hurry!"

"Why should I?" He countered, crossing his arms and legs defiantly.

"I just found him! He's injured!" She yelled over the distance and the waves.

"Oh." He thought, feeling relieved that she hadn't met another man. "Be right there, luv!" He stood, wondering how to get down. Then he remembered the old path he found when he was nine. Jack walked quickly around the bend, finding the old path and walking cautiously down the rocky decline.

He rushed over to Hermione, glad to see her, but concerned about this strange person. "What happened to him?" Jack asked, grabbing the man's hand and letting it go to fall back onto the ground.

"I don't know, I just found him." She said hurriedly. "He must've fallen from the cliff. He's still alive, but at this rate, he might not be for long."

"Here, I'll grab his arms." Jack suggested, "You can get his feet, that is, unless you want to switch."

"No, no, that's fine." She shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. She hesitated from lifting his legs, because she knew that if this man had a broken spinal cord, the slightest movement could be fatal. She breathed out deeply, readying herself to carry this person.

"One..." Jack began.

"Two..." Hermione continued.

"Three!" They both said in unison, lifting the man up. She grimaced at how the blood gushed from his arm as Jack struggled to hold him up, Jack's hand becoming bloody in the process.

Jack noticed Hermione staring at his hand, her face showing concern. "Don't worry about it, luv."

"There's gotta be a better way." She said, seeing this as the impossible task.

"No time." He insisted, backing up towards the path. Hermione followed, of course, with the man's feet slipping out of her grasp. The man's head was leaning back, being supported by Jack's stomach.

Jack looked over his shoulder at the incline back up to the top, and he braced himself for the struggle.

He stepped back and up, alternating feet. "Woah!" He hollered, his foot slipping under a loose rock. He steadied himself and Hermione let out a sigh of relief, having expected both the man AND Jack to come tumbling down on top of her.

Jack looked sadly down at the man, "You had best lay off the cheeseburgers, mate." Jack shuffled his feet carefully back up, looking over his shoulder constantly. "Almost there, luv."

"I can see." She said as she struggled to keep the man from falling out of her grasp. She inched forward, trying to hold his thighs instead, and allowing his feet to dangle on either side of her. She found this to be easier. Although, Jack didn't like it one bit.

"Hermione?" He grunted, out of breath. This man was heavy. "Do you want to switch?"

"I'm fine." She said, biting her lip. Soon enough, they reached the top of the cliff, laying the man down in the tall grass. Jack sat beside the man, while Hermione laid down on her stomach, trying to catch her breath.

"Nice work, luv." Jack complemented her with a smile.

She pushed up with her arms, "Not so bad yourself, ace." She smiled back, sitting up on her knees.

"Jaacckkk!" Barbossa's voice rang in the distance.

"Oh." Jack remembered, standing up and brushing himself off. "Erm, could ye stay here? I'll be right back, don't you worry." He ended with a wink before turning and walking quickly over to his first mate.

"Jack, where have you been?" Barbossa scowled.

"That's CAPTAIN to you." Jack corrected him. "Listen, we need a hand or two. So why don't ye come over-"

"No, Jack. The crew is meeting us at the Pearl in ten minutes!" The first mate growled.

"Oi! I'm the Captain here, not you. What I say goes. Now, as I was saying, the lass and I need your help." Jack said, motioning toward the area where Hermione and the man were waiting.

Barbossa rolled his eyes. "Aye..."

"Aye what?" Jack raised his eyebrow, smug grin in place.

"Aye Captain..." Barbossa growled through gritted teeth.

"Ah, so I notice you've been working on your mad face! Very nice, mate." Jack punched him in the shoulder. "Never the less, we have more pressing matters to attend to. Savvy?" Jack said, quickly walking in Hermione's direction.

"No." Barbossa grumbled upon noticing the body. "He does not come with us."

"But I just found him. He needs help." Hermione stood, insisting.

"Then why don't you stay with him? Here?" Barbossa smiled wryly. At this point, he had a vibe from her that just made his skin crawl, yet he couldn't quite place it. It was… bewitching- almost.

"Absolutely not." Jack blurted out, holding his index finger in the air. "She goes with us."

Barbossa sneered, reading Jack like a book. "What next, Jack? Are you going to let 'er paint the Pearl pink?"

Nothing was worse for a pirate'r reputation than a woman. Once a man found love, his friends would all turn on him. Lilly-livers they're called.

"It's not like that, Barbossa." Hermione defended.

"Aren't most women taught to not speak unless spoken to?" Barbossa asked, turning to Jack.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not most women." She retorted, heavily offended.

"Come, Hector. Help me lift 'im." Jack ordered, changing the subject.

Barbossa reluctantly assisted Jack in carrying the man back towards the docks. In the town, an old man was pushing a wooden cart down the street.

"Hermione!" Jack called to her, "Here, take his arms." She did as he asked, taking the man's bloody arms by the wrists, holding him up. Jack then approached the old man, putting his hands on the handles and tugging it away from the old man. "Sorry, mate!"

Jack wheeled it over to them, "See? All a part of my brilliant plan!"

Hermione walked up the bed of the wooden cart, letting the man rest on it's wooden planks. Barbossa released the man's legs, causing them to fall carelessly. "That should do it." Barbossa said, rubbing his hands off.

Jack took the handles, pushing the cart down the street. "Wait a minute." He stopped. "You do it." He turned to Barbossa. "This is not the Captain's job."

Barbossa mumbled a few choice words to himself as he took the handles, pushing the cart down the street.

**[AN: I'm loving the response from my last few updates and I just wanted to tell y'all how much I appreciate the reviews. I know this chapter may or may not leave you with some questions, but things should fall into place soon. Recap (just in case you missed it) Mistress Valeria is in Tortuga to spy on Jack, her main target isn't Hermione. She was only using her as a means of gathering information about Jack. Keep up the reviews :) they give me the motivation to continue :D]**


	11. Knowing Donavan Parts 1&2

That night, Pintel and Reghetti laid the man down in the spare cabin, usually reserved for incidents like this. The crew all slept in hammocks below deck, that way it was all fair. Barbossa had his own quarters, but it was not nearly as grand as Jack's own cabin.

Hermione and Jack stood aside while the cook examined the man, cleaning his injuries. Jack looked down, seeing his own blood covered hand. Hermione saw him looking at it as well.

"You should wash your hand, I'm sure nothing good can come from that." Hermione suggested.

"Immune systems. Always beneficial." Jack responded with a charming grin.

A series of heavy steps alerted them to another person nearing. Billy poked his head in though the doorway, slightly exasperated. "Jack, the first mate requests your presence on the deck." He announced.

"That's CAPTAIN Jack. No one seems to remember that." Jack complained, slumping over, making to follow Billy up to the helm.

"I'll be here." Hermione announced, pulling up a chair beside the man.

She studied him, wondering what had happened in the first place. She hardly knew him, yet she felt compelled to heal him. Perhaps it was the remembrance of the constant pain from the war. She shivered at the thought. All of the death and destruction everywhere you would turn.

Ever since, Hermione absent-mindedly vowed to herself to help others in their time of need, to prevent herself from ever having to feel that level of helplessness again. Or anyone else in that case.

The ship's cook began to wrap bandages around the man's lacerated arm, and having difficulty with it.

"Here," Hermione came to his aid, "Let me help you."

"Why, thank you, madam." The cook said with a sincere smile. "Would you like to clean the wound on his forehead?"

"Um- sure." Hermione said, glad to help. She stood up, retrieving a wooden water dish off of the table, and the cloth beside it. Leaning beside the man, she wet the cloth and gently dabbed it on the open gash.

"What happened to him?" The cook asked after a while.

"I found him. Over by the old lighthouse. Must've fallen off the cliffs." Hermione explained.

"Oh. I see."

"I have a question for you." Hermione inquired. "Why did you become a pirate?"

"The same reason e'eryone else does." He chuckled, "Freedom."

"What about Jack- the Captain?"

"What about 'im?" The cook paused, looking up at her.

"Well... What do you know about him?" Hermione asked nervously, trying to seem casual about the matter. But the thing is, she wanted to learn more about Jack. She didn't know as much as she would like to, truth be told.

"Stories say, he's had more run-ins with the supernatural than anyone would ever want to have." He began.

"And what does he think about that?" She asked quickly, before he continued. It did matter after all, considering she was a witch. "Does it...bother him?"

"I don't think so. Sometimes I think he goes looking for these magical things. I've seen more magic in my day than I'd care to. But, it's fun." He admitted.

"Like what?" She asked, setting down the cloth. Her interest growing.

"Maybe you should ask me another time. When I'm in the kitchens." He said suddenly, going back to work on the man's injuries.

"Oh." She said, clearly disappointed. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Yes. He'll be fine, madam. All we have to do now is wait for him to awaken." The cook stated, putting away his aid kit. "I think it best you go and clean that cut of yours." He added before leaving the room.

Hermione stood up, about to leave, but she stopped. Wondering what made him become so reserved all of a sudden. Was it something she said? Was he about to say something he shouldn't?

She straitened out, opening the door and walking back up the steps to the hallway. There, across from the room, was Barbossa's quarters.

Another set of stairs led up to another entrance to Jack's cabin.

She entered the room, seeing Jack washing his hands inside a white porsalin dish, the water inside pink from the blood on his hands. "Allo luv." He greeted her, wiping his face with a towel. He must've just shaven.

"Jack, is everything okay? I think there's something going on that no one is telling me." She said, worried.

"Like what?" He asked, walking over to his desk and sitting.

"The cook," She began, sitting down on the sofa, facing him. "We were talking, and he was in the middle of telling me a story. Then, he stopped for no apparent reason, and wouldn't tell me any more. Don't you think that's a bit odd?"

Jack paused for a moment, leaning back in his chair. "Odd. Isn't everyone odd? I'm odd, you're odd... He's odd. What was he telling you?"

"He was telling me about your adventures, and..." She paused for effect, "Magic."

His kohl lined eyes lit up. "Magic is a powerful thing, doll. But I'm sure there's no harm in discussing it, eh? Besides, Barbossa keeps the crew on a short leash, perhaps that's what's up."

"Perhaps." She said, deep in thought. She stood up, approaching his desk curiously and pulling up a chair to sit. She folded her arms on the table, resting her head on her arms, watching Jack as he examined a map.

After a moment of comfortable silence and a few sways of the ship, Jack spoke up. "Is there ever a place that you would want to go, Hermione?"

She thought for a moment. Home. That's what she wanted most. But her idea of home doesn't exist any more, even if she did go back to her time. She had obliviated her parents, Hogwarts was destroyed in the battle. The ministry was still trying to get back up on it's feet. Hogwarts... The battle replayed in her head.

Jack saw a tear fall from her cheek, and a sharp pang erupted in his chest, a feeling he couldn't explain, but he couldn't fight what it was. "Luv?"

She looked up suddenly, wiping the tear from her cheek. "I'm sorry. Just... Just a memory. That's all."

He frowned, turning his view down to the maps, but that didn't change his thoughts. He still wondered what it was that made her so sad so sudden.

* * *

The Black Pearl rocked to and fro, dancing with the waves as they lapped over the whitecaps of the night. The moon was completely uninstructed, and so the full of it's glory could be seen by all below it.

Jack stood at the bowsprit, contemplating the recent events on his mind. The sky was dark, a few clouds obstructing the moon.

"Captain Sparrow." Barbossa walked down the steps to his Captain. "What beings ye here, not with that Bonnie lass of ye's?"

"Bonnie lass? Oh, you mean Hermione? She has a name mate, and it's not 'bonnie lass', I can assure you." Jack defended her in her absence, the memory of her bouncy brown curls coming to play in his mind.

"Ow long do ye plan on keepin' 'er? After all, it's bad luck to have a woman aboard a ship." Barbossa grunted, wanting this girl off the ship. Every honest pirate knew a love-struck captain only meant trouble.

"Hector," Jack turned facing his first mate, "What bad luck has come from having her? I mean, we had a rather successful plundering attack not too long ago." Jack pointed his thumb behind him to indicate the past.

Barbossa sighed. "Jack, it seems the crew and I aren't entirely fond of the lass. And if ye knew what was best for ye, you'd get rid a her."

"Get rid of her? Why would I want to do that?" Jack looked confused.

"You know of Captain Lawrence Chafer, aye?" Barbossa waited for Jack to nod before continuing. "Fearsome pirate for years along the south African peninsula. Met a girl. Became soft. Then, before 'e knew it his crew mutinied against him. Two months later, he met his demise in Port Royal." Jack grimaced at the thought, felling his neck where a noose would be as the first mate continued with his story. "If ye go to said place today, you can still see his body handing from a sign beside S'ven the Vicious and Black Eyed Susan."

"That's a lovely story, mate. And I appreciate your concern, but THIS Captain has everything under control." Jack straitened out his coat before walking away, signaling the end of the discussion.

Jack strutted across the Black stained deck, gently opening the door to he and Hermione's cabin, shutting it lightly behind him. He knew she was asleep.

Walking inward, Jack took off his coat, effects, and hat, placing them on the rack near the doorway. A few dimly lit candles illuminated the dark wood of the walls, the bed curtains a deep red. For some reason, she always kept them open. Then again, he reminded himself, it sure got hot in the Caribbean.

Though, the silvery moon interrupted the scene with it's cold blue shade, shining onto Hermione. She lay cutely tucked under the sheets. She was laying on her back, her head tilted slightly to one side facing her hand that was up on the pillow. Her other was down by her side.

It took a moment for Jack to realize he was staring. Smiling to himself, he walked over to his cabinet, opening the small door and retrieving a bottle of rum.

Tugging on the cap, it made a suctioning sound as it disconnected from the glass container. Discarding the cork off to the side, he sat down on the sofa, kicking up his feet.

Tilting his head back, he gulped once- twice, allowing the mellow burn of rum to trickle down his throat. With a calm sigh, Jack lowered the bottle. His eyes focused on an overturned book on the table. Setting the rum down, he picked up the book instead, reading wherever it was Hermione had left off.

It looked as if she had scribbled on a few of the pages, where she had made a few amendments to the book on 'Astrological Navigations'. He laughed slightly, turning the pages while keeping his ring finger on the page she had saved.

Re-situating himself on the sofa in a more comfortable position, Jack began to read over the pages. Soon enough, for someone who hardly ever read for sport, he found himself drifting to sleep. He had forgotten all about the neglected bottle of rum that sat atop the table when he fell asleep, the book resting on his face.

* * *

Hermione woke up lying on her back, her arm outstretched beneath her pillow and the other resting on her stomach. She sat up upon Billy entering the cabin through the main doors.

"Jack?" He said, looking curiously at his captain, who was snoring quietly on his stomach upon the sofa.

"What is it? I can deliver a message." Hermione offered.

"The rescued man has woken up. He demands to see Jack as soon as possible." Billy stated.

"I can come instead! I'd love to, in fact." Hermione said, climbing down from the bed and retrieving the required dress robe that women wore back then. It was proper attire for the time. Hers was a deep purple, a color she fancied, thank goodness. She flipped her hair out from beneath the collar of the robe and put on her night slippers. She had often wondered why Jack had these things, but then again, she reminded herself, better safe than sorry.

"Um, m'am, I'm not sure this is wise." Billy protested, holding up his index finger. But, Hermione didn't react. She continued out the back door of the cabin, walking down the steps and to the hallway. She opened the door to the man's room, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

"You? You're the captain?" The man was in fact awake, now sitting up in his cot.

"Nope, but I'm the next best thing."

She said, in a think-of-the-bright-side tone. Her eyes flicked over to a sea gull, perched on a nearby writing desk. "Why is there a bird in here?"

"I insist I speak with the captain." He said, almost in a robotic manner.

"Will he know how the bird got in here?" She asked with sarcasm, her eyebrows raised for effect. Standing, Hermione grabbed the bird in her hands, trying to keep it contained as it flapped it's wings furiously. She tucked the squawking creature under her arm, and taking it over to the open port-hole beside his bed. After releasing the bird, she turned her attention back to the man. "Now, where were we?"

"As I ordered you before, bring the captain here." He said in a monotone voice.

Hermione blinked, staring before sitting down on the chair she had the night before. "The captain is busy."

"Then leave and send him down when he isn't busy. Who are you anyway?" He sneered.

Hermione's eye twitched in irritation. "I think you had best respect me, sir."

"Respect." He spat. "I'm done giving people respect. Now, take me to your Captain if you must. I'm not speaking to the ship's maid."

Hermione's eyes flashed with sudden anger. "I am no maid." She stood. "You have no idea what I am." Her voice was now shaking with fury. "And nor do you want to find out." She turned and rushed from the room, slamming it shut behind her. Billy stopped in his tracks after walking past Hermione, taken aback by her anger. She glanced at him once, shook her head and marched on to Jack's cabin.

She re-entered the cabin to see Jack still dead asleep. Hermione sat down heavily on the foot of the bed, appalled by this man's nerve and level of disrespect. She crossed her arms, fuming. Her eyes drifted back to Jack lying on the sofa, and she instantly began to calm. He sure is cute, she admitted to herself.

"Jaaacckk!" Barbossa pounded his fist against the giant doors. Hermione sat up immediately, dropping her phone as she ran to get the door. For all she knew, there could have been a dire emergency.

She opened the doors, the first mate not hesitating to shove past her and approach Jack snoring on the couch. "Jacckkk!" He yelled, throwing a rolled up piece of paper at the sleeping captain's head.

Jack sat up immediately. "What- what- what's wrong? Oh, it's just you, Hector." Jack shrugged at his seething first mate, laying back down and closing his eyes.

"Jack Sparrow." Barbossa growled through gritted teeth. "You changed our route. JACK! I AM TALKING TO YOU!"

"Calm down, mate. I'm right here, no need to holler." Jack said calmly, peeking one eye open from the side of his pillow.

Hermione flinched from the sidelines as Barbossa shoved the coffee table away with his foot, the screeching sound echoing throughout the cabin. "You toyed with the maps! We are SUPPOSED to be sailing toward Isla Del Muerta! How long have we been sailing in the wrong direction?"

"Alright, alright, Hector, don't get your sails in a knot!" Jack sat up. "I was searching through Mr. Boo-boo's pockets and found a better destination, savvy? Besides, you don't want that rumored rubbish."

"Rubbish? Jack, I've been- WE have dreamed of swimming in the valuable legendary treasure that is in Isla del Muerta for years!" Barbossa countered. "Besides," He continued, calming down. "It's only folklore that claims the loot to be cursed, aye? You said so yerself, Jack."

"Captain Jack." Jack corrected. "And while in Tortuga, I talked to a few blokes who say the treasure is a phony, that only a real fool would go searching for it. Besides, you'll find Paris much more enticing."

"PARIS?" Barbossa and Hermione both said in shocked unison, Hermione in an excited fashion, Barbossa in just the opposite.

"Aye, Paris." Jack said with a smile, reluctantly sitting up and pulling on his boots.

Barbossa rolled his eyes, slumping down in a nearby chair, resting his forehead in his palm. "And you are choosing to listen to a handful of smarmy half- drunken bildgerats you met in a bar off the far end of Tortuga, eh? Some captain." Barbossa spat.

"Hey!" Jack jumped to the defense. "They seemed smart!"

"Perhaps because they'd had a few less pints than you!" Barbossa said in a sarcastic tone. "Besides, what worthy treasure could possibly be in France?"

"You just wait and see, mate." Jack have the first mate an assuring smile.

**[AN: Hey guys and gals alike, I've been especially looking forward to my next chapter which I will hopefully be posting soon. It's not entirely significant, but something tells me it's the excitement some of y'all have been wanting. Also, yesterday was Hermione's birthday AND Talk Like a Pirate day! *Faints* Follow me on Twitter for previews and snippits from my stories as well as segments from future chapters! KelC247 AKA: Knockturn Kelsey :) R&R, Toodaloo!]**


	12. One Deception

Hector Barbossa sat on the window seat in his own cabin, green apple in hand as he formulated a plan against his Captain. Man did he hate Jack Sparrow.

First, either Jack was insulting him, or he was constantly changing their routes, wasting time, all the time! And now, what does he do? He brings a woman on board! Ha! Not a single respectable pirate willingly had a woman on board that wasn't a captive. Not only that, but Barbossa noticed Jack had feelings for this woman, FEELINGS.

Then again, the first mate thought, it would be easier to turn the crew against the captain as long as Jack had feelings for her. Barbossa heard a strange sound on the upper deck, catching his attention.

Grumbling to himself, Barbossa strutted across his cabin, flung open his door and marched up the stairs to the upper deck.

There, on the bow, was Donavan, the injured man standing on his own, a bird perched on his shoulder and a piece of parchment in his hand.

"What do ye think yer doin', sailor?" Barbossa hollered, waking quickly over to him.

"Nothing, sir." Donavan said quickly hiding the parchment behind his back. "Just- um- calling to the birds." He began to whistle out of the corner of his mouth.

"Calling to the birds, aye?" Barbossa raised an eyebrow. "Hand over that there piece of paper, boy."

"Paper? Oh, this?" He asked, holding it up and trying to seem innocent. "This here is a letter to my mother."

Barbossa snatched it out of his hand, eyes immediately scanning over it.

—Mistress Valeria Dalma, The captain has the map you requested I make in his possession. After overhearing a debate between he and the First Mate, they are headed for Paris, just as you told me to make sure of. The girl, Hermione, is one to keep an eye on, however. She may pose more of a threat than I originally anticipated. Furthermore, We are now in the central Atlantic, and It is in my opinion that the Black Pearl IS in fact the fastest ship in the ocean. It may serve you well when it is yours.—

"What is this?" Barbossa fumed, grabbing Donavan by his shirt and holding him up in the air.

"Listen, I can sort this out. We can make amends, you and I along with Mistress Valeria." Donavan said, his fake attitude now faded away.

"What is your business with Mistress Valeria?" Barbossa said, holding the man nose to nose with him. Everyone knew Mistress Valeria was someone not to be acquainted with.

Just then, a black mist faded into view in the center of the deck, turning into a beautiful woman. She had long, strait black hair, piercing blue eyes and a rather low cut dress. "Hector..." She spoke in a soothing voice. "Put him down..."

When Barbossa's grip didn't obey, the woman used her magic to force him to release the man's shirt.

"I," She began, "am Mistress Valeria Dalma, practitioner of the Magical Arts."

"A witch." Barbossa's lip twitched with hatred. "I should have known."

"I know what your greatest desires are, Hector..." She appeared beside him, whispering into his ear. "I know exactly the thing you want most... And I can help you to get it, if you help me."

"Why can't you do whatever it is you want with Sparrow now and get it over with?" Barbossa hissed in annoyance.

"I can't do that, you see, my power is limited outside of France." She explained.

"Go on..." Barbossa inquired, his interest peaking.

"You help deliver Jack Sparrow to me, in Paris, and the Black Pearl will be yours to cherish once he is disposed of." Valeria explained, massaging his shoulders as she spoke.

"And the girl?" Barbossa asked.

Valeria stopped, appearing directly in front of him. "What happens to her is none of your concern. Unless you can find some way to dispose of her? She might be the little menace in my plan."

"I could most certainly try." Barbossa grinned, happy with the way this all worked out.

"And so," Barbossa continued his previous conversation. "Do we have an accord?"

"I believe we do, Captain Barbossa."

* * *

Hermione blinked her eyes open, yawning and stretching before allowing her hands to fall limply into her awaiting lap. She sat up, seeing Jack snoring away on the couch as usual, laying on his stomach, face buried in the pillow while his arm and feet hung over the sides.

Looking around the cabin, she finally felt at home, that feeling that you would want to stay there forever. But at the same time- she never really paid attention to how unappealing the condition of the cabin actually was. Giant candles hung from broken chandeliers, their wax dripping over the sides. The dark mahogany walls, floors and ceiling was even more garish. To her at least.

Sitting cross legged on the bed, she crossed her arms and tapped her finger on her temple, wondering if Jack would mind her making a few 'cosmetic' changes. Maybe install a few 'modern' appliances here and there, all hidden of course so that only SHE could access them. She imagined a large television hiding behind a bookcase of the sort, or maybe some fake candles, the electronic ones would be far less messy.

She began imagining the cabin painted in a pastel grey, a few yellow curtains and white furniture. An updated chandelier would be nice as well. She could magically put up a wall, creating a bedroom!

"Oh goodness, Mione..." She thought aloud. Getting away with herself was something she tended to do a lot. But then again, there was no harm in imagining things. Maybe just a paint job...

"Morning, luv." Jack's voice broke her deep concentration.

"Good morning." She echoed, feeling out of the ordinarily cheerful, which Jack seemed to notice.

"Someone's in a good mood, I recon." He observed with a smile. "You don't suppose we'll make port in France soon, I'm afraid we're running low on supplies."

"Well that can't be good." Hermione noted, standing from the bed. "And by 'supplies', do you really mean rum?"

He tilted his head to the side, teeth showing in a cute grin that made Hermione fill up with butterflies. "Aye. That, too, darlin'."

"Say," Hermione began, her smile dimming but not entirely gone. "Do you think Barbossa would have checked on Donavan this morning? Or perhaps Billy?"

He shrugged, not caring much as much as she did about Donavan. If anything, Jack didn't like that Hermione seemed to care so much about Donavan. He didn't want her thoughts on another man, wether it was out of concern or not. "'Ermione, I think, that maybe you should give our dear Damien some space, at least for a little bit."

"But- but what if he needs something? What if he's in pain? He can't get up and solve the problem himself let alone stand." Hermione felt truly grieved, despite Donavan's harsh mannerisms. Like before, she felt compelled to help heal him.

"Jack! Look! Look!" Billy burst in, unannounced. "It's an island coming up on us! It isn't charted, it doesn't appear on our maps." He pointed up to the stairs. "IT seems to be nearing US."

Hermione's eyes lit up. At least she would get to go somewhere new an unexplored!

"Perhaps your eyes are going, Billy. Or- I bet our dear companion Shane may have spilled something on that area of the map, maybe? Washed away all the ink?" Jack asked, being rational for a change.

"Just come see!" Billy urged, running out of the cabin and onto the deck.

Hermione grabbed her favorite pastel green silk robe to cover her cream colored night down, and followed Jack out onto the deck, then seeing exactly what Billy had described.

She came closer to the black ship railing, in awe at the odd island. She had expected palm trees and a lush jungle, but instead, there was a large mountain, tall and rocky. It was surrounded entirely by a dark forest, similar to what they had in Europe.

"What is this place?" The crew member Liam asked from beside her, his curly blonde hair becoming tangled in the wind.

"I don't know. They said it was uncharted." Hermione responded, turning when she heard Jack's voice ring from behind her.

"I call dibs!" Jack yelled, holding his index finger up in the air. "I shall name it something utterly magnificent, and nothing less than fantastic, savvy?"

"We are not GOING to that island." Barbossa argued from the wheel. "We're just passing by." He turned the wheel to the right so that they could sail around it.

"Nonsense, Hector!" Jack protested, approaching the first mate at the wheel, putting his hands on the spokes and trying to shove Barbossa away with his hip nonchalantly. But the first mate wasn't all too willing to let go.

"We are NOT going to that island and that's FINAL. We aren't getting sidetracked again!" Hector yelled, pushing Jack away with his shoulder.

"I'm the Captain!" Jack said sharply, stepping back suddenly so that Barbossa stumbled past him and landed on the floorboards. Jack then stepped over the first mate, proudly assuming the position of the wheel and steering it towards the island.

Barbossa, fuming, stood up, and charged strait towards his Captain, tackling him to the ground. They rolled around the deck, kicking and scratching. Jack yelled out in pain as Barbossa tugged on his long braids, and Jack quickly grabbed Barbossa's feathered hat, tossing it into the air.

"My hat!" Barbossa hollered, scrambling off of Jack to retrieve it.

"Ha!" Jack smiled widely, having gotten the best of old Barbossa. As the first mate's back was turned, Jack quickly tiptoed up to the upper deck, taking his spot at the wheel and re-adjusting his hat. "Now, mates, prepare to drop anchor, ready the boats for our departure!"

Barbossa growled in annoyance, defeatedly walking away.

"Do they usually fight like this?" Hermione leaned over to ask Billy, who was standing beside her.

"Regrettably, yes." He responded, turning his attention back to the island as the crew hopped about, tending to their orders.

The island came closer, Jack ordered the crew to drop anchor not far offshore, and small boats with oars were readied on the starboard side.

"While we're here, stay with me, luv. I can handle mysterious islands like these." Jack said, almost bragging, but Hermione wasn't impressed.

"Oh really?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yes really." He responded in the same manner, unphased by her sarcasm. "Ready for the boats?"

She nodded, unable to contain her curiosity towards the uncharted island. She was desperate to know why it was an island of forests, rather than palm trees.

The crew began to situate themselves inside the small boats, other crewmen lowering them down into the water. Barbossa insisted on riding in a separate boat than the captain, understandably upset about losing his argument.

Billy and a handful of other crewmen including Donavan stayed behind to watch the ship and lower the last boats into the water.

As always, Jack insisted Hermione stay with him, and then of course Catastrophe Shane was the other one in their boat, on oar duty.

Hermione's heart thudded nervously at the small gap between the ship and the small boat at it dangled by a few ropes over the water. She imagined the worst, falling into the gap and landing in the possibly shark infested water.

"Alright, darlin', up you go." Jack said, catching Hermione off guard as he grabbed her waist, holding her up and over to the small boat. She clambered inside, eyes wide as she clutched onto the sides, nervous of the rocking boat. Jack easily climbed inside after her, settling down behind her. Next was Shane.

The drunken pirate scratched his head in confusion, wondering how in the world he would be able to get inside the dingy.

"Come on, lad. We don't have all day." A crewmen urged as Shane went to try to get aboard, stopped, trying another way, and stopping again.

Hermione looked beside her, spotting one of the oars and getting and idea. "Here," She said retrieving it. She set it leaning on both boats at each end, acting as a makeshift bridge of the sort.

Shane understood, walking across the oar like a tightrope, windmilling his arms as he tried to stay balanced. A few steps across, Shane was inside the boat.

"Tally-ho!" One of the crewmen yelled, slicing the line with his sword.

Hermione couldn't hold back a scream as they fell through the air, landing with a splash onto the water, some waves splashing over the sides of the small boat.

"The oars, man! The oars!" Jack reminded Shane who sat slumped over behind him.

"Oars?" He asked. "Oh! The oars!" He quickly gathered the oars, hooking them onto the sides of the dingy after a few unsuccessful tries.

He then began to row quickly, one quicker than the other, causing them to go around in a complete circle.

"Same pace, Shane. Equal strokes." Jack regarded him patiently, trying to keep his cool in front of Hermione.

"Equal strokes..." Shane echoed repeatedly, constantly reminding himself.

Along the way, Hermione had looked down to see that she was still technically in her nightgown. Lovely, she thought.

Eventually, they reached the island where the others were waiting for their arrival. "It's about time!" Gunner grunted, looking relieved of boredom.

Hermione got out of the dingy, looking about the island in great confusion. The trees, they were pines, not palms. The ground was covered in old leaves, not vines. This was odd, even for them.

"Well, onward we go!" Jack said with a suddenly cheerful adittude. He marched into the forest, drawing his knees up high and trying to make himself look more superior, when in reality he looked simply rediculous.

The crew followed their captain into the woods, anxious to explore the newly discovered island.

Jack peered over his shoulder occasionally, seeing what Hermione was doing.

She usually was looking up at the trees, or between the trees. Occasionally, she would stop and examine a particularly large insect. This time, she turned around quickly, listening.

"Stop." She said aloud, making everyone pause in their stride and stare at her in confusion.

"What is it?" Jack asked, approaching her.

"Do you hear that?" She asked, hearing a faint rustle in the leaves surrounding them. "See? There it was again!"

Of course, no one else seemed to hear it. They all just looked at her in confusion.

"Come on, gents. The sooner we look around this place, the sooner we can get back to the Pearl." Barbossa announced, continuing on the walk.

"I swear I heard something." Hermione insisted.

"I swear I heard something." A crewmen mimicked her with a squeaky voice.

Hermione huffed, stomping her foot in the dirt, mumbling to herself about a spell she would like to use.

Minutes passed, and soon enough, they had been walking through the seemingly never ending forest for two hours. Now, it was past lunch time, and every once in a while you would hear the occasional growl of a hungry stomach.

A path weaved through the dirt behind them much like a large snake, and Jack followed the trail with his eyes, ending at Shane who was haphazardly dragging his feet as he walked in a crooked line.

"Captain, when will we stop for food?" Gunner asked, leaning over and clutching his stomach as he walked.

"Soon enough, my good man." Jack assured him, his own stomach threatening to grumble.

"Jack, let's pause for a break." Barbossa suggested, feeling run down and hungry.

"Aye..." The crew mumbled all finding a spot on the ground to rest.

Thankfully for Hermione, she wasn't hungry. Something shuffled out of the the corner of her eye, catching her attention. It was orange, and fuzzy? Furry? She couldn't tell. She found herself driven by curiosity, following the creature into the forest.

Jack was to preoccupied by his hunger to notice Hermione disappear into the nearby trees and out of sight.

"Food!" A crewman stood up with extra exuberance, running over to a bush and plucking off an invisible fruit, gnawing at it hungrily.

Jack titled his head, taken aback by the man's strange behavior. The man was selfishly devouring the non-existent sustenance.

"Look! It's a whole trail of food!" The same crewman announced, pointing towards imaginary food that only the single crewman seemed to see.

"Don't go back there, sailor!" Barbossa barked. "I think I know what this is..."

"No, no it is! I see it! Follow me!" The man insisted, prepared to run into the forest, but Barbossa stopped him.

"These are marsh nymphs. I've heard stories from Greek mythology," Barbossa began.

* * *

Hermione followed the orange object as it flounced through the forest. "Crookshanks?" She asked, finally recognizing it.

"Hermione..." A familiar voice sounded beside her. She turned to see a ghostly figure behind her, firey red hair and an unmistakable Weasley sweater.

"George?" She asked in astonishment. The figure turned, revealing large, bloody wounds on their right side. This person was dead. "Fred..." She gasped, her eyes widening.

* * *

Barbossa continued, "...The Marsh Nymphs mislead explorers and travelers using hallucinations of images from the victim's past, usually a passed loved one..."

* * *

"Hermione, follow me..." Fred said, floating on through the forest.

Hermione struggled to keep up with him, nearly tripping an falling on an uprooted tree along the way.

"Come on, Hermione. Hurry, there isn't much time." Fred said, continuing on through the forest. Hermione followed the ghost of her friend into a clearing, surrounded by large rocks and what appeared to be an abandoned native civilization. Rocks and stones piled up as walls were partially destroyed.

"Fred, where are we?" Hermione asked, looking around. The sun shone brightly through the trees, but the area was suspiciously silent.

She spun around frantically, her ghostly friend no longer present. "Fred!" She called, but there was no response.

"Hermione, we're so proud of you..." Another voice sounded. She turned in it's direction, seeing her mother standing nearby. Dazed and confused, she wasn't quite in the mind to doubt.

"Mum?" Hermione asked, her eyes welling up with tears. This wasn't possible. Something wasn't right.

"And dad." The ghostly image of her father faded into view beside her mother.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Hermione shouted in despair, running towards her 'parents' to give them a long overdue hug. But she fell through them, landing on the rocks covering the ground. She turned around to see her parents no longer there.

With a tear trailing down her cheek, she frantically spun around, knowing something was up.

She paused upon hearing a low growl sound behind her, and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened in fear. Hermione slowly turned, her eyes stopping on two giant blue scaly feet, claws the size of herself clutched into the ground. As she looked upward, the object turned into a long, blue neck, connecting to the head of a dragon.

She stood still as it's breath fanned through her hair, it's body towering over her. She dared take a step back, her foot slipping on a loose rock, and she fell backwards onto the stones.

The dragon's head reeled back in a roar, and Hermione screamed with all her might, scrambling to her feet.

* * *

"...Some say the victim is lead to a giant, or a large creature of the sort, depending on what the location is. Either way, there is something bad present on this island." Barbossa stopped.

"Enough with your tall tale, Hector, you're weirding out the crew. Then again- its not like you don't do that anyway." Jack asked, brushing himself off as he stood. "Besides, these things don't exist! It's only a myth." Jack stood proudly, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

A giant roar echoed through the forest followed by a scream. Jack's eyes opened wide. That sounded like Hermione. His eyes immediately scanned over the crew, not seeing Hermione present among them.

"Hermione!" He yelled, breaking into a run into the direction of the scream, his crew following not far behind.

* * *

Hermione ran desperately towards the center of the old village, picking up and throwing stones whenever she had the chance. But that didn't delay the creature much. This is a call for magic, she thought.

She thought of a spell in her head, motioning with her hand over her shoulder to direct it where to go. A large fire exploded in the creature's face, causing it to roar in anger and surprise. Hermione found herself cornered up against one of the walls, and the dragon didn't hesitate to bite through the wall to get to her. But she was quicker. She dove out of the way, rolling on the ground and picking herself up as the dragon maintained in pursuit of her.

Jack's voice rang through the forest, calling her name.

The dragon's eyes drifted in Jack's direction, turning back to see that Hermione was no longer there.

The dragon roared, fire erupting from it's mouth and singeing the tops of the trees. Looking around, it finally spotted Hermione climbing up the side of a tall dilapidated building.

The dragon snapped at her, taking bites out of the building as Hermione swayed her body to dodge it's blows. Her hand slipped from a stone, and she began falling down the side of the tall structure.

"Arresto Momento!" She yelled, pausing a few inches before hitting the ground, dropping onto the stone pavement.

The dragon blew it's fire towards her, but by wrapping her arms over her head, a magic blue shield dispersed the flame as it came toward her. The dragon paused in confusion, before roaring out in anger.

Hermione took off running down the stone steps, slipping a little, but regaining her balance as she ran into the forest. She paused against a tree, looking around for the dragon. It roared in the distance, wondering where she had escaped to.

She heard a peculiar snapping sound beside her, looking to her right and seeing a ginormous scorpion. It was easily her height, it's tail even taller, reaching up to the trees. It's legs were as thick as traffic cones and it's eyes as large as balloons.

It's tail twitched, watching her. She held back a scream, bolting in the opposite direction with the scorpion chasing after her.

"Diffendo!" She yelled towards it, and it reeled back, slamming into a tree. She didn't stop running when she heard it clamber back to its feet, unscathed.

She heard Jack bellow in the distance. "Hermione!"

She immediately remembered something she had read in her fourth year at Hogwarts about Dragons. They were extremely territorial.

Getting an idea, even though risky, Hermione ran in the direction of the old civilization, with hopes the dragon would still be there. She saw the white stones in the distance, giving her new strength to keep going. She ran into the clearing, and just as she had hoped, the dragon was still there.

The dragon roared upon seeing Hermione, then haunching back in attack mode. The giant scorpion appeared out of the forest not far behind her, scurrying into the clearing. Hermione ran up the old stone steps, hiding behind one of the old buildings.

She watched as the dragon turned it's attention to the scorpion, becoming territorial. Now, if she could sneak away and find Jack, they could get back to the boat while the scorpion and the dragon fought.

She was just about to execute her plan when Jack appeared into the clearing, followed by a group of pirates. They all looked up in awe as the dragon fought with the giant scorpion. Just then, all of the pirates ran screaming back into the woods, leaving Jack standing in the clearing.

The dragon turned around, it's tail whacking Jack into an old statue before he had the chance to run. Jack laid there, not moving. Hermione gasped. "Oh no..."

Hermione's attention was forced back to the fight, hardly able to move as the battle went on, the dragon nipping and biting at the scorpion, occasionally pulling one of it's giant legs off and flinging it.

The dragon roared as the scorpion plunged it's pinchers into the dragon's wing. With one quick movement, the dragon plucked up a boulder, smashing it onto the scorpion's head repeatedly.

Hermione crept towards Jack who lay unconscious in a pile of rubble, trying her best not to be noticed as the dragon remained preoccupied with the now dead giant scorpion.

She knelt down beside him, plucking off all of the rocks and discarding them over her shoulder. "Oh, Jack, please wake up soon." She prayed, tucking her hair behind her ear and glancing around for the dragon. It was gone. The clearing was empty besides the insect carcass that lay crushed in bits and pieces along the ground.

Lacking a better alternative, Hermione took hold of Jack's arms, dragging him back towards the edge of the forest. It seemed as if she had done something similar recently, but now, she had more practice and experience with the proper way of 'dragging' someone.

She felt a large, noisy thud behind her that shook the trees. A low growl alerted her to the presence of the dragon. It didn't waste a moment's time in claiming his prize. Hermione latched onto Jack's unconscious form when she saw the dragon's claws reaching for her. She held onto him tight as the beast lifted them up into the air, and taking flight. She the shut her eyes, trying to remain calm in the situation. Maybe she could think her way out of it.

Her eyes snapped open upon hearing Jack's voice screaming, and soon enough he was holding onto her for dear life. "Jack, stay calm. You must stay calm!" Hermione said, trying to shush him as he dangled above the trees and the unwelcoming landscape.

"Where is it taking us?" Jack hollered, examining the tops of the trees from up in the dragon's clutches. "Somewhere nice, I hope."

The dragon roared, spitting out fire as they flew through the air.

"I'm not entirely sure." Hermione responded, trying to recall everything she knew about dragons.

It flapped it's wings several times, preparing to land. It thudded on the ground, making sure not to force all of its weight on Jack and Hermione.

The dragon released them, causing them to fall to the ground on their backs, and Jack was prepared to make a run for it.

"Jack no!" Hermione yelled as quietly as possible. The pirate then gave her a 'whats-wrong-with-you' expression. She continued speaking, even though slightly out of breath. "If you run, it'll kill you even quicker."

Jack made a second attempt to push himself up, but Hermione was faster, already on top of him and pinning his arms up by his head. "You aren't listening to me!" She whispered. "I have a plan!"

Jack shook his head, just wanting to get back to the ship. "I'm the Captain, I make the plans."

"You may be A Captain, but I have no Captain." Hermione said seriously, her eyes noticeably narrowing. She then climbed off of him, now giving him the choice to run, or to trust her.

He glanced over towards the land, then to Hermione, and back to the land. Jack stood up, gabbing Hermione's hand and making a run for it towards the forest.

"What are you doing?" Hermione fought, trying to slip her wrist out of his grasp. The dragon roared, chasing after them. "Now look what you've done!"

"What I've done? It's not my fault he's cranky!" Jack defended. Hermione finally jerked herself from his grasp, ending in the both of them landing in the mud.

The dragon flew overhead, scooping Jack up in it's clutches. Hermione stood up, running towards the dragon just before it took to the air again.

She leaped up, grabbing onto the end of it's tail before it soared above the trees. She struggled in the task, but she managed to hoist herself fully onto the dragon's tail, crawling up towards it's back. Just then, her dress skirt caught into one of the many spikes along the dragon's back. She tugged on the fabric, and ended up tearing a portion of her dress.

Still, she pushed on, despite how tired she became. After what felt like forever, she finally reached her desired location at the base of the dragon's neck. She straddled the dragon as if riding a horse, trying to figure out a spell to somehow get Jack and herself to safety.

Before she could make a move, the dragon tilted to the left, coming across the side of a rather tall, steep cliff overlooking the ocean. There, within the cliff but still far above the ocean level, was a cave.

It dove down, preparing to enter the cave. Hermione ducked as the dragon came beside it and flung Jack inside. The dragon must have known Hermione was there the entire time, because it's arm reached around, grabbing her, and setting her inside the cave along with Jack. Soon enough, the dragon took off, leaving the two humans all alone.

**[AN: I think I should point out that this island place is mostly irrelevant to the plot. I figured y'all didn't want to read 'just a few regualr boring days at sea later...' But this also is going to come into play with Jack and Hermione's relationship. Hope y'all like it thus far! R&R :)]**


	13. The Cave

"Great! Just great!" Hermione yelled, her sounds reverberating off of the cavern walls. "You could have just listened to me and we'd probably be back with the crew by now, but noooo. You just had to go and screw it all up, didn't you?!" She threw her hands up in the air, pacing back and forth, trying to establish a new plan of escape.

"Luv, you know I had only the best intentions in mind..." He defended, trying to reason with her. Looking out, the cave was high above the ocean with absolutely no means of escape.

"It's because of you, you're whole reason why we're all trapped on this bloody island in the first place!" Hermione backfired, fuming. She was now hyperventilating, all of the stresses of the day coming down on her. She slumped down against the side wall of the cave, just beside the opening. "I just want to go home." She tucked her knees into her chest and buried her face in her knees, crying.

Jack stood in confusion, not sure wether to worry about the dragon returning, wether they would escape in time, or cheering Hermione up somehow.

Lowering his eyes, he slowly approached Hermione, trying to be seem as little as possible. He sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her to him in a comforting embrace.

But, still Hermione resisted, lightly pulling away from him, hesitant to let her emotions get the best of her. "Please, just go away..."

Jack obeyed, feeling more rejected than ever, returning to his spot on the opposite wall. He sat, picking up rocks and tossing them out of the cave, watching them as they splashed into the waves. It was sunset now, and dark storm clouds were rolling in.

His eyes wandered over to Hermione who was no longer crying, but still in a saddened state as she looked out over the water. Only then did he notice the large bruises and scrapes she had collected throughout the day.

She had a large cut on her right cheek, a bruise on her opposing temple. Her chest had a bleeding cut as well along with an even more severe one on her elbow, but at least it didn't seem to bother her.

Even still, Jack smiled to himself, she looked absolutely beautiful. More so than anyone he had ever seen before, and he had been a lot of places and seen a lot of people. She was just perfect, almost too perfect. But he was ruining her. The promises he silently made in Tortuga about keeping her safe were shattered. This wasn't the first time harm had come to her, and it was all his fault.

He didn't know how to prevent it, either. Jack had someone, a person he cared for more than anything or anyone else. And at this rate, he wasn't sure how much longer she would stay. Besides, she was just saying that she wanted to go home. Perhaps she was right, he thought. She was too good to be true.

The two of them sat in silence for a long while, Hermione too distressed to speak and Jack not having the right words to say. Without warning, Hermione stood up, walking towards the back of the cave, which wasn't very far away at all.

"Hermione?" Jack called, craning his neck to see what she was up to. When she didn't respond, he stood up, walking towards her.

"Rocks?" Jack tilted his head in question as Hermione walked past, four or five rocks in hand. "Why do you need rocks?"

"I'm ignoring you." Hermione spoke simply, returning to her spot on the ground, arranging the rocks into a pile on the ground before standing, walking back to the end of the cave.

"Well, luv, by telling me you're ignoring me only means you're not quite ignoring me." Jack pointed out.

She returned with a small handful of leaves. Hermione wasn't entirely sure HOW the leaves got into the cave, but at a moment like that, she didn't have much room for questioning. Setting the leaves into a pile beside the rocks, she surrounded the pile of leaves with the rocks, just to make sure they'd be less likely to blow away.

She then took a stone in each hand striking them together over the pile of leaves.

"Oh, now I see." Jack mused. "You're trying to make a fire."

Impatient, Hermione whispered quietly so that barely even herself could hear."Incendio."

The piles of leaves in front of her burst into flames so quickly she fell back in surprise. Jack had rubbed his eyes, missing how the fire erupted so quickly. Incendio, huh? He srugged. Perhaps that was the new 'sailor word' back in London.

"You're talented at that, darlin." He commented on her fire making abilities, coming back to her side.

She crossed her arms in defiance as Jack came to sit beside her, trying his best to look into her eyes. When she turned her head away, his hand came up, gently pulling her chin back in his direction.

She tugged his hand away, her eyes coming to meet his. Hermione's heart fluttered with nervous jitters as Jack's face neared hers. She was prepared to back away, to chicken out, but he forced himself foreword instead. Their lips collided, and everything seemed to fade away as they slowly kissed, the sprinkles of rain bouncing off of the cave flooring and onto them. Hermione gave in, she could hardly hold her emotions in any longer.

Jack's hand wandered to her cheek, gently touching her face as they kissed repeatedly. Hermione resisted a giggle when his mustache tickled her upper lip, the whole time she was entranced by him and how relaxed everything was. His other arm wrapped around her back, pulling her closer to him, and in turn, she put one arm around his neck, the other resting on his chest.

Her head was spinning, and what felt like millions of emotions and feelings buzzed around. She could feel his breath every once it a while, but it only attracted her more. Just then, she left Jack's teeth gently bite down on her bottom lip and release.

Hermione pulled away, not wanting to get out of her comfort zone. He opened his eyes, wondering if he had done something wrong, but felt reassured when he saw Hermione trying to hold back a smile- and horribly failing at it. She looked him admiringly in the eye, still caught up in the excitement of the moment. She pulled him into a deep hug, and he hugged her back just as much. He could feel her heart against his chest, and at the moment he couldn't name a time he had been rain continued to fall outside, an occasional roar of thunder causing Hermione to flinch, but she felt safe in his arms.

After a long time, Jack looked down to see that Hermione had fallen asleep in his arms, and he couldn't help but smile. He gently scooted them back, so that he could lean against the cave wall. Once there, he began to run his fingers through her hair, taking note of how soft it was.

Hermione unconsciously cuddled up closer to him, and only then did he notice that her breath was visible. It was cold, she was cold, he thought. He took off his coat, draping it over her like a blanket, and soon enough, he was asleep too.

* * *

Jack woke up that next morning, his back nearly killing him due to the cold hard cave. He immediately felt comforted when he saw Hermione still asleep against him, remembering the kiss from the night before.

Their emotions were confirmed, but Jack wasn't entirely relaxed on the matter. If anything, he had a new issue, keeping her affections.

"Oi!" A voice sounded from the outside of the cave. "Is there anyone in there?!"

Jack paused in thought, wondering who on earth it could have been, and wether he should move Hermione or not. He decided the latter, shifting Hermione off of him gently, and setting her on the ground.

He then ran up to the opening of the cave to see the Black Pearl anchored just outside. He began waving his arms in the air as a response.

"It's Cap'n Jack!" The crew called in cheers. Jack tilted his head in question as a strange object flew towards him from the ship, a rope attached. He immediately jumped to the side when he realized what it was. The three-sided hook latched onto a large rock around the opening of the cave to allow them to climb down.

"Hold on, just a moment!" Jack hollered to the crew who sat patiently waiting. He ran over to Hermione, kneeling beside her.

"Luv, Hermione, wake up, it's time to go." He spoke gently so as not to alarm her. She slowly opened her eyes, then becoming wide when she realized how close he was.

"Shh.." Jack continued, "It's the crew, they've come for us."

"Really?" She sat up, wide smile in place.

"Yes, now come on, we're pressed for time." He informed her, helping her to her feet.

She came to the opening of the cave, her eyes following the thin line that connected to the ship what felt like a hundred feet away. "No no no no, I can't do this..." Hermione backed into Jack, turning to face him.

"Yes you can, I know you can. It's not as difficult as you think. Trust me," Jack tried to comfort her. "Now hurry."

He urged her forward, but she immediately latched onto him, refusing to take the long rope down. "I won't do it, no. I'm afraid of heights."

"What's the hold up?!" One of the crewmen called, followed by chatter from the rest of the crew.

"You leave me no other choice, you can either go on your own, or I will have to force you down. But I will not leave you here." Jack put it plainly.

"I can go down WITH you." Hermione suggested, but Jack just shook his head.

"It's not that simple, darlin'." Jack responded, having sympathy for her.

"Then go without me."

"You leave me no choice, luv." He warned, coming closer. She ignored his threats until he leaned down and scooped her up in his arms. "Put me down!" She fought.

He held her up, bending his knees. "Wait- what are you doIIINNNGGGG?!" She screamed as he threw her up into the air, her arms flailing about. About to land in the water, she had no choice but to grab onto the rope last second.

She slid to a stop, the rope burning her palms and calves into oblivion as she held onto it with her hands and legs. She looked down at the waves that crashed some fifty feet beneath her.

"Come on sweetheart!" A few of the crewmen taunted, "We'll catch ya!"

"You're all nuts!" Hermione thought out loud as she inched her way down the rope.

Thankfully for her, Jack had a strong arm- or two, and she landed most of the way there. She proceeded down the line, and eventually Billy's hand was there for her to take.

She hopped up onto the railing, ever so glad to be back aboard the Black Pearl again. "Thank you, Billy." Hermione smiled, throwing her arms around him gratifyingly.

Jack was next, but of course, he felt the need to show off for Hermione. He stepped ONTO the rope, sliding down as if it were the railing of a stairwell, and he did it so perfectly, too. Hermione put her hands over her eyes, but still peeked through her fingers with the suspense of it all.

Jack landed on the deck with style, and bowed to Hermione, flaunting his ability. In turn, she simply rolled her eyes at his arrogance. Jack's arms fell in disappointment when Hermione rolled her eyes. She was supposed to be impressed, which she was, just chose not to show it.

"Now, where in Neptune's sea is Hector?" Jack asked, not seeing his first mate.

"Up here, ye loon!" Barbossa howled from the wheel.

"Ah, I couldn't see you behind your cowardly shroud." Jack's arms swung at his sides as he taunted his first mate who had run out on him when they had first come in contact with the dragon. "Made your way back to the pearl, I see."

"Had to come back for the Captain, aye?" Barbossa said, hiding his true feelings. He only came back because he needed Jack in order to have the Black Pearl ensured to be his.

"I knew ye'd come around, mate. Besides, I bet the only place you'd be able to sail to on your own is Davy Jones's locker!" Jack joked, earning a dark scowl from his first mate.

Hermione traveled back into Jack's cabin, looking for a decent change of clothes that wasn't a ripped, grass-stained old night gown. She found one of her dresses, a redish colored one, and put it on before fixing her hair. She put it up in a loose bun, the way a lot of girls did it back home. Next, she washed the dirt off of her face.

She then decided to go back up onto the deck so that she could be in the know as to where they'd be headed next.

She stepped out onto the deck, noticing how happy the crew seemed to be back at sea and away from the crazy island.

"...so I was thinking of a name for the island last night," She heard Jack, "and I've decided I don't need it to be named after me after all! I mean besides, who needs an island when you're already the most fearsome pirate around, aye?"

Hermione couldn't help but interrupt. "And we would be the only ones who knew of it's name. For all we know, someone else could have come and claimed it their's already."

Jack made a disgusted face, he liked the idea of having discovered an island all on his own. "But they didn't! Because I found it, not some old sailor bloke from Napal. Me and only me." He held his chin up in a proud manner.

"What it is with men and honor, I will never understand." Hermione mused, one eyebrow raised. She walked away, planning on observing the crew. She was very curious of all of them, they were just- interesting.

Jack watched as Hermione walked away, and he sighed, admiring her beauty. Billy took notice of the Captain's emotions, and he nudged Jack in the ribs with his elbow.

"Who- what- oh, it's just you Billy." Jack said, caught off guard. Billy gave him a smug grin, knowing exactly what- or who- was on Jack's mind. Jack inched away, unsure why Billy was looking at him the way he was.

Jack escaped to the wheel. "Excuse me, Hector. I'll take the wheel. You aren't holding it right."

Barbossa didn't budge, but he turned to Jack, eyebrows raised, giving him a sarcastic glance.

"Move, mate." Jack said, shooing the first mate away. Barbossa moved, observing Jack with exaggerated curiosity as the Captain did the EXACT same thing he did. "You see? That's how you hold the wheel. Now you try."

Jack stepped away, motioning for Barbossa to return to the wheel.

Barbossa placed his hands on the knobs the same way Jack had, just to please him.

"You're doing it wrong." Jack observed, leaning forward with his arms casually behind his back.

Barbossa moved his hands to a different position on the wheel.

"Nope..." Jack shook his head.

"Jack, don't ye have anything be'er to do?" Barbossa huffed in annoyance.

"Of course I do!" Jack defended. "I'm the captain, always busy. It's hard work being the Captain, but I'm not complaining, nope." He said, stepping over to the railing and pulling out his spyglass. Truth be told, he didn't have anything better to do.

Holding the spyglass up to his eye, he examined the horizon. "Nope. Just sea." He turned, keeping his view inside the spyglass. He observed the crew up close, moving his gaze to the crewman at the crow's nest, then back down to observe the deck.

There, by the bowsprit, stood Hermione. Jack smiled, watching as her hair fanned about in the wind. He jumped in surprise when a face appeared close up in his view.

"Cap'n?" Catastrophe Shane stood about a foot away from him, holding his index finger up.

"What is it, Shane?" Jack asked tiredly.

"I was just..." The rest of his words were strung together and mumbled, and Jack didn't understand a single one.

"Come again?" Jack held his hand up to his ear. Shane mumbled his words again, so mixed up they couldn't be made out.

"...Yes!" Jack said with a smile, nodding, and hoping that was the answer to Shane's question.

"Well, okay then." Shane said, stumbling back to mop duty.

"Where was I? Oh, yes." Jack held the spyglass up again, watching Hermione from a distance. He couldn't tell if she was happy or sad, which troubled him.

He lowered the spyglass, not tearing his eyes from the girl who entranced him. He put away his spyglass, then unclipping his compass from his belt. Flipping open the lid, Jack watched as the red arrow spun around once or twice, before pointing directly at Hermione. He smiled, but then frowned. What did she want most? Was it him?

He began walking down the steps, across the deck, and over to the bow.

"Ello, lovie." Jack greeted her.

She turned to see him, a new smile on her face. "What brings you here, Jack?"

"I was just wondering if you'd keep an eye on me compass for me?" He asked, holding it out to her with a sly grin.

She accepted it warily, snapping it shut before Jack could see where it pointed to. "Why can't you watch it?" She asked. "Not that I'm complaining, it's just a small trinket. I'd imagine you could put it in your pocket."

"Aye, but it seems my pockets are full." Jack said, sticking his hands inside his coat pockets. NOW they were full.

"Alright..." Hermione decided not to question. Jack is very difficult to understand, that's for sure. She replayed the kiss from the night before in her head, causing her cheeks to turn pink. She turned back to the ocean, hoping Jack wouldn't notice.

"Do you like music, luv?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Music?" Hermione asked, her back still to him. "What kind of music?"

"Just- music. You know, the orchestra?" Jack asked.

Hermione turned to face him, her blush faded. "Yes, why?"

"Well," He began, "There's an especially special place in Paris that I've heard all about. I was just wondering if you'd like to go while we were in town."

"Hmmm..." She thought with a smile, "I'd like that."

Jack beamed. "Alright then, it's a date! Or- erm- a plan." He corrected quickly, now having embarrassed the wits out of himself. He slumped over, walking away before he could embarrass himself further.

* * *

Hermione sat on the sofa, brushing through her tangled mane of brown curls with a brush she had found on the dresser. She hummed, replaying the incident from the night before. Ever since, she couldn't erase the feel of Jack's kiss on her lips.

Setting the brush down, she noticed a window along the back wall was cracked open, allowing too cold a wind to seep in. Standing, she tucked her arms into her midsection in order to keep herself warm as she neared the window. Hopefully they would reach France soon. She missed the scene of a partially familiar atmosphere.

As her arm reached forward, she jumped back when a sudden, unexplained burst of the night's chilled breeze flung open the window, blowing out all of the candles in the room.

Recovering quickly from the scare, she grabbed the window's pane and slammed it shut, listening for the click to make certain it wouldn't open again. Turning, she examined the now dark, ghostly cabin with a long, exasperated sigh. With a wave of her hand, all of the candles flicked with a new light, as if being turned on from an unexplained source.

Glancing around the room once, she took note of the closed doors and felt it safe enough to practice some wandless magic. A few harmless spells couldn't hurt, right? Motioning with her hand, the hairbrush levitated into the air, landing back on the dresser where she had found it. Snapping her fingers, the bed made itself, the sheets pulling themselves up to meet cream colored pillows.

She spun in place while casting animation spells all about the room, watching with a smile how the chandeliers spun, the tea kettle screeched and an old, inaccurate globe rotated.

Pausing, she glanced toward the cabin doors, her heart plummeting down to her stomach as when she noticed Billy's face in the doorway. All at once, Hermione's magic ceased, the levitated objects dropping onto the floor. His eyes were bulged with surprise, his mouth hanging slightly open. They both seemed to stare for a moment, their minds captured in the moment of shock. Hermione was the first to come to her senses.

"Billy I-" She began, rushing quickly towards him. He tried to turn and make a mad dash away, but Hermione quickly caught him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him back into the room. He tried to fight her, but she was still too strong and was able to drag him over to the couch.

He fell onto the cushion, not breaking any eye contact with Hermione, mistrust and fear replacing his usual expressions.

She visibly relaxed when he stopped fighting her, just sitting and staring at her, wide eyed and afraid. She remained quiet as she searched for the right words to say.

"Listen, Billy, I'm not going to hurt you." Hermione said calmly, comfortingly. "I know I haven't been entirely honest with you, and you'll have to understand why."

"You're a witch." He said, relaxing slightly by her calm nature, but still kept his guard up. He raised an eyebrow. "How?"

She sighed, moving to sit across from him on the coffee table. "It's hereditary, not much of a choice, really."

"Why are you here? I mean, on the ship?" He asked, tugging nervously on his sleeves.

"Well, I'm originally from London, but a spell went wrong and I was sent here by mistake." She explained. "I appeared in Port Royal, Jamaica, I believe it was, where I first met governor Beckett."

"Beckett?" He asked. "Jack and Beckett aren't exactly the best of friends, you know."

"It didn't take too much effort to figure out." Hermione continued. "But I'm hoping that when we get to France, I know of a person who might be able to help me return home."

He paused at this, thinking. After a moment of torturous silence for Hermione, he spoke up. "Do you think he could help ME get home?" Billy wondered, his facial expression lighting up.

"It's complicated. I mean, if I wanted to, I could take you home right now but I can't do that so simply, you see." She said, immediately regretting that statement when his eyes lit up even more. "But but I can't you know."

"Why ever couldn't you? You have the power, the ability, the time! I could pay you. I would do anything to return home." He pleaded, but Hermione knew all too well that he couldn't simply just be on the ship one day and completely vanish the next. Understandably, the crew would grow suspicion. If not, Merlin knows she would've left the moment she had arrived.

Hermione continued to answer Billy's questions, only leaving out her participation in the wizarding war and how she was originally from the future.

"But you can't tell Jack, you can't tell anyone, Billy." Hermione made certain he understood. She twiddled her thumbs for a moment, thinking. "But, just me being curious..." Hermione continued, "What do you think Jack would do if he found out?"

"Well, he would most certainly be shocked, but he wouldn't do anything drastic. I know of a friend of his that is of magical blood as well, so I suppose it wouldn't bother him."

'Phew' Hermione thought.

Billy was in the middle of telling Hermione a joke about the Englishman and his rum when Jack strode into the room. Jack then paused in his tracks, furrowing his brows upon seeing Billy in his room, sitting next to Hermione, making her laugh. A sudden pang of jealousy seemed to replace Jack's casual demeanor.

"What's in the makings, Billy?" Jack asked, a large, faux smirk crossing his face as he sat down on the couch between Hermione and Billy.

"He was just telling me a joke, go on Billy, tell him." She smiled.

"Okay, well, an Englishman, a Scott, and a Pirate all walk into a tavern and sit at the bar. Each of them order a rum, and a fly drops into each of their mugs."

Jack rubbed his chin skeptically, pretending to be patient as Billy continued. "...The Englishman turns green and pushes his away, the Scott orders a new one, and the Pirate takes the fly out, squeezing it and yelling, 'Spit it out you little bugger!'"

Hermione burst out in laughter, watching as Jack frowned. "Soiled rum doesn't do me well, Billy." Jack's smirk returned, "But I do enjoy a good joke, no doubt." He stood, walking over to his rum cabinet and taking one out, pulling the cork off. "I've heard of one, too. It's about the little sailor who lost his way. Oh, where was he from, North Carolina?"

Billy stood, offended, and scoffed from the room. Hermione stood up as well, upset at Jack's unexplained rudeness. "What was that for?" She then chased after her friend who had fled from the room, leaving Jack to his rum.

He sighed. His big mouth had gotten the best of him-again. Now Hermione was mad at him. His eyes wandered down, eying the bottle in his hand. Without a single sip, he shoved the cork back onto the opening, putting it back inside the cabinet. He hasn't had a single drop of rum in what- four days? This was unlike him, even he knew.

As night settled, Jack plopped down at his desk, eyeing the map to France. There on the corner, he could swear it was the initials 'MV'. He shrugged, his mind already focused on the idea that Hermione might be growing feelings for Billy, even after the kiss they had shared the night before.

* * *

"Captain." A knock sounded from the door.

"Come on in." Jack responded, not tearing his eyes from one of Hermione's books that lay on his desk.

"Approximately a hundred kilometers until we reach land, should arrive by morning." The cabin boy announced, somewhat formally.

Jack momentarily relaxed, leaning back in his chair and kicking his boots up and onto the table. "Excellent, my boy." The boy beamed. "Now, that will be all." The cabin boy turned to leave.

"Hold up there-" Jack said upon a sudden, causing the boy to stop in his tracks. "I have a job for you to do, you see it's very important." Jack waited for the boy to nod before continuing. "I have a compass, but miss Hermione has it in her possessions right now. I want you to go to her and ask her to open it. While it is in her hand, see which direction the arrow points. But not in terms of direction, in terms of people, aye?"

They boy paused, evaluating the instructions in his head. "Yessir."

"On our way then, lad, we won't want to waste much time, now do we?" Jack smiled, feeling clever. He stood, walking out of the cabin and up to the weather deck while the boy went to do his task.

Jack watched out of the corner of his eye as the cabin boy approached Hermione at the bow of the ship, he began to talk to her. He watched her nod to the boy and retrieve the compass from her dress pocket, listening as the boy spoke. Jack then saw her face turn to contusion, mouthing the word 'why?', her attention turning up to Jack.

He glanced quickly away, whistling into the night. He continued to watch out of the corner of his eye as Hermione opened the compass lid, and holding it out for the boy to see. The cabin boy seemed intrigued, scratching his head curiously. The boy came to Jack at the top of the stairs after Hermione went downstairs to sleep.

"Nothing." The boy said.

"Nothing?" Jack asked, the hope draining in his voice. "What- what do you mean nothing?" His voice became a higher pitch than usual, catching the attention of a few unprepared crewman. Jack then lowered his voice into a whisper. "How could there be nothing?"

"It first pointed towards the steer of the ship, in your direction, then it began spinning endlessly. So it's broken."

Jack sighed. "Piddle. My compass isn't broken." He stood a little taller.

"If its your compass, why does the miss have it?" The boy asked, but Jack merely patted him on the head.

"Don't worry your mind a bit, lad. Scurry on off to bed now, you're relieved of duty for the night." Jack said.

"Yes, Cap'n!"

Jack rubbed his temples, frustrated. Why had the compass not pointed to him exactly? Why did it spin the way it did? He didn't know what it meant. What in Neptune's sea did Hermione want most?

**[AU: For the record I'm very aware that this took ENTIRELY too long for me to update. I'm not all much satisfed with the way the chapter last ended, but I knew I had to update. Remember to review my minions, they keep me motivated!]**


	14. French Welcomers

The morning air of mid December was cold and crisp. The docks were quiet, the only sounds of crashing waves and squawking seagulls. France was exactly the way Hermione had expected it; old tutor styles homes and cobblestone streets. Unlit street lamps stood around every corner as well.

Hermione observed from the railing of the ship as the crew unloaded cargo and Jack wandered about, studying a map of the sort. Their next stop was Paris, and the only way to get there was to walk- or go by horse drawn carriage.

As Hermione scanned around, she decided to approach Jack who stood at the bottom of the gangplank. Perhaps he would let her set up their rides to Paris.

"Jack," Hermione said halfway down the gangplank. "Have you already set up a carriage to Paris?" She was now near the bottom, approaching Jack and standing beside him.

"No, luv. But there's an admission office of transportation just down the road. I was going to send Barbossa to have it done, but he hasn't gotten around to it." Jack explained.

"I can do it!" Hermione said hopefully.

"Well sure, luv. I don't see why not." He smiled, "Here, I'll go fetch some coins."

"You don't have to do that, Jack. I've been told I'm really good at negotiating." Hermione said, forming a plan in her head.

Jack stood back, giving her a quizzical look. "If you're so sure, luv..."

"Times." Hermione said suddenly. "What time do you want to leave and how many people?"

"32 people and we can leave some time before noon." He responded.

"Alright, thirty two people, before noon. Got it." Hermione nodded.

"Oh, and Hermione?" Jack called just as she was leaving.

"What?" She turned.

"I would like for you to meet me back here in about thirty minutes." He instructed. That way, if anything went wrong, he would know soon enough how I find her. Plus, he had an idea.

Hermione continued down the cobblestone roads and through the empty streets, her destination being the transportation office. She neared the building, opening the doors and seeing a man behind a counter, glasses resting on the end of his nose. "Que puis-je faire pour vous aujourd'hui, Mademoiselle?"

He spoke French, which luckily, Hermione spoke fluently.

"chariots de combien il faudra de trente deux passagers?" Hermione asked, asking how many carriages would be needed for thirty two people.

"Hmm..." He thought. "vous aurez besoin de six voitures." Meaning, six or seven carriages.

Hermione continued in French, "Then seven for Paris leaving before noon."

"That will be two hundred shillings." He spoke in his French language, but Hermione had something else in mind.

"I'm sorry about this, sir. Imperio." She said, causing the man to look around dreamily. "I'm going to get the information for the seven carriages."

"Sounds good." Hermione smiled, glad her spell worked.

The man went into the back room, gathering the papers for her. He returned, a folder in hand with several parchments.

He left to the back room, returning with a few pieces of rolled up parchment, handing them to her. She nodded in thanks before turning to leave.

Hermione opened the shop door and stepped out into the grey town, cottages lining the roads, tall pine trees here and there.

"Oh, good." Hermione perked up upon seeing that Jack hadn't left his spot, observing as the crew tied the ship up to the dock.

She practically skipped over to him, surprised at how easy it was to 'arrange' their trip to Paris.

"Hermione, that was quick!" Jack said in surprise.

"I'm just a talented negotiator, I guess." She shrugged, handing him the papers.

Jack unraveled the paper, reading the information. "Oh, good. We have two hours to get all situated in the carriages. Hector!" He called for the first mate.

The pirate approached him, a reluctant expression in place. "Aye?" He grumbled.

"Make sure everyone's jolly for the road," Jack explained, shoving the informational parchment into the first mate's arms. "We'll be on our way in two hours."

"But what about the cargo? How exactly do you plan on having it all loaded in TWO hours?" Barbossa objected.

"Sell the cargo, it'll give us a boost in the long run. Besides, no one knows how long we'll be gone, mate." Jack simplified the situation down with a patient smile.

Turning back to Hermione, he casually wrapped his arm around her waist. "Would you like to go shopping, luv?"

"Shopping?" She was surprised. "I mean, do we have time for that?"

"We have all the time in the world. I have a place in mind I would like to take you, either way."

He escorted her down the road, around a few corners, and came to stop in front of a fancy dress shop. He began, "I just figured you'd like something- new. You know? Something more... Your own."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say, whether to politely deny the offer or politely accept it. She glanced down at her current dress. "Well, thank you." She smiled. "I don't really need-"

"No, luv, no need to act polite, I insist." He smiled, holding the door open for her to enter.

A single bell announced their arrival, and a young lady, about Hermione's age, came to their assistance. "How may I help you?" She asked in poorly accented English.

"The miss is looking for a new dress, if you'd be so kind." Jack spoke up.

The girl nodded, understanding. "Right this way then." She lead them into the small shop, towards a fitting area of the sort. A tall, antique mirror stood in the center of the room, a stool in front of a sitting sofa.

"Come stand here, please." The girl lead Hermione to stand on top of the stool. She pulled measuring string from her pocket, wrapping it around Hermione's waist. Hermione held her arms up at the woman proceeded to measure her. Jack sat back on the sofa, looking around the room to avoid staring at Hermione while she was being measured for size.

"Just one moment, dear." The woman said, leaving to the back room.

Jack looked back to Hermione, flashing her a comforting grin. Hermione smiled weakly back, turning her attention to her feet as a warm shade of pink swept her cheeks, causing Jack to smile inwardly.

"Here we are." The woman returned, her arms filled with samples of fabrics and prints and designs that made Hermione's eyes widen in excitement.

The woman laid everything neatly on top of the mahogany table, so that all of the options were there for her to see. There were corsets, skirts, hems, sleeves, collars, hoop skirts, ruffles and so on and so forth.

Having decided on a combination, the woman lead Hermione into the back room to quickly piece the design together. A few minutes passed, and Jack nearly was at a loss of breath when Hermione first emerged from behind the curtain. She was absolutely gorgeous.

She spun in place, feeling the tickle of the ruffles against her legs. Her dress was a pale yellow with blue designs on the fabric. The corset was tied tightly, allowing more cleavage to be shown than Hermione would like, but that didn't make her love the dress any less. She didn't think she'd ever worn anything this elegant before either. The sleeves had a pretty white ruffle as well.

"You have two more." The woman said, holding out the other two. One was a light purple- slightly grey, and the last was the most elegant. It was of a deep fabric, with gems along the neckline. It was a dress befitting of royalty. Hermione took them graciously as the woman lead Jack to the front to pay. It was a little bit more than a shiny penny, but all the well worth it. As they exited the shop, Hermione stood on her toes and quickly gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Thank you." She smiled. He smiled back, an admiring gleam in his eyes that made her heart beat increase ten fold. They proceeded back to the dock, where seven carriages were waiting.

* * *

A long while later, Jack studied Hermione with a soft smile, running his fingers gently through her hair as she unconsciously leaned against his chest, fast asleep. The carriage rocked against the cobblestone roads, preventing Jack from getting hardly any sleep. He looked out the window, seeing the tall pine trees pass over the moon in the distance. He shivered, seeing his breath fade out in front of him. Jack eyed his coat on the bottom of the carriage, which he kicked up with his foot, catching in his free hand. He then draped it over Hermione, noticing she was shivering herself.

The crew followed behind in a few other carriages, and luckily, they would arrive in Paris soon. They had traveled by carriage for eight hours now, allowing the horses to take breaks here and there with every meal.

Jack noticed something strange outside of the window, drifting past. Another one followed, then another! He looked upon the ground to see the dark surroundings dusted white, glittering in the silver moon. It was snowing! It wasn't like a drop down freezing snow, but a peaceful and happy snow. A kind of snow that makes you happy and warm inside in a way. It was almost new to Jack. He wasn't very familiar snow although he had a short experience with it in his teen years.

He looked over to Hermione and noticed the way the moon casted the trees' shadows over her face. To Jack, everything about her was perfect. He admired everything. But he wished he could describe how much he loved her and how to explain it to her. They hit a bump, causing Hermione to become awake and alert, sitting up quickly and glancing around.

"Those rambunctious tree roots are quite the annoyance." Jack commented, putting his hand around her shoulder re-assuringly. His thumb sub-consciously began to caress her soft brown hair that rested along her shoulders.

"Is that- snow?" Hermione asked, noticing how brightly the moon reflected off the white blanketed ground.

"Most certainly. And common here in France, considering its northern geographical location. Aye?" He raised his eyebrows as he peered out the window at the white forest that surrounded them.

"How much longer, Jack?" She complained with a groan, "We've been cooped up for hours..."

"Only maybe thirty minutes left, not much longer at all, I promise. Besides, you, Billy, Hector and I are all going to have a nice room at the Hotel de Paris to sulk in as soon as we arrive into the city." He assured her with a grin.

Another bump rocked the carriage, shaking the curtains loose from their restraints and causing the carriage to go dark.

"Lovely." Hermione said in a high tone.

"'Ere we are!" Jack rummaged through his coat pockets, retrieving a candle and a match to go with it. Striking the match stick along the roof of the carriage, a dim orange flame sizzled on the match, that he brought to meet the candle wick.

Hermione then flashed him a 'why-in-neptune's-sea-do-you-have-a-candle-in-your-pocket' look.

"What?" Jack shrugged, "Never hurts to be prepared, luv."

Holding the candle stick up, it illuminated the once dark carriage. She placed it on the candelabra that hung on the inside of the carriage. She then glanced about, thinking of a way to pass the time.

"Have you ever heard of a game called Rock Paper Scissors?" Hermione asked upon a sudden.

He seemed momentarily confused, frowned, then saying, "No."

"It goes like this." She began, holding out her hand and placing her fist in her palm. "Rock paper scissors. Now, you choose to make a rock, like this, paper, your hand is flat like this, or scissors, like this." She showed him each hand formation an waited for him to nod before continuing. "It's simple really. The rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock." She explained further.

"Alright luv, I'll call it." He said anxiously, smiling as he called out "Rock paper scissors." Rock and scissors.

"I win!" Hermione chirped.

"Again!" Jack announced. "Rock paper scissors." Paper and rock.

"I win again!" Hermione laughed. "Okay, I'll call it this time. Rock Paper Scissors." Paper and scissors.

"I WON! HA! Just what that Captain ordered, isn't it? So sorry, luv." He said, patting her hand in apology. "But you are no match for my scissoring skills."

"Oh my goodness," She pretended to look hurt. "You're right. I'm no match for your invigorating skill and years of on going practice."

* * *

Soon enough, Hermione began to notice the glimmering streetlights that illuminated the beautiful buildings of Paris, France. She glanced eagerly out the window, teeming with anticipation. The snow sprinkled the ground, inflicting sparkles upon itself from the lanterns and moonlight.

The carriage slowed to a stop, and Hermione could see their hotel from the window.

"Velcome to Paris, madam and Captain." The carriage driver bowed as he opened the door of the carriage, revealing a magnificent city behind him. The buildings were a smooth white marble with beautiful detail and architecture. The dirt roads were lined with candle street lamps, and several other carriages strolled past. The carriage driver offered his hand to Hermione, assisting her from the carriage and out onto the snow covered pavement. Jack followed after, all of the pirates filtering from the carriages simultaneously. Though, understandably, they would be in a separate hotel from Jack, Hermione, Billy and Barbossa. They were one block over in an inn all for themselves.

Barbossa and Billy came to Jack and Hermione as the carriages drove off.

Jack came to stand in front of his crew. "Alright, gents. I understand you are most excited to be in Paris, I just ask that you lot remain civilized. I WON'T be bailing you out from jail while we're here. Savvy? Goodnight, sleep tight- or a tight as a pirate sleeps." He concluded his speech, proceeding up to the room that the four of them would be sharing.

Hermione followed the others into the grand hotel, a giant brass chandelier hanging overhead and luxurious surroundings cluttering the lobby. They walked up the grand staircase and down the hallway, each of the doors towering above their heads, engraved in white and pale grey features. They came to a stop at one of the doors, Jack unlocking it with a single key, and pushing the door open. Her eyes widened at the tall ceilings, chandelier, four separate glorious beds, a fancy fireplace as well as two sofas. A white antique armoire stood beside a towering window, draped with the finest of linens and oldest of trim.

Jack removed his hat and coat, tossing them haphazardly on the coat hanger.

"Jack, this is a nice room, you should do what you can to take care of it." Hermione explained, placing her hands on her hips.

He slumped forward, adjusting his coat and hat more properly on the coat hanger. Barbossa simply rolled his eyes.


	15. Opera De Paris

The next evening, Hermione eagerly looked out the window of the carriage and around the night streets of Paris, France. Jack was surprising her with the destination, but wherever they were, it must have been a grand occasion. Cluttering the streets were regal appearing people by the garish gowns worn by the rich nobles and royalty of Paris.

There were many oil lamps that reflected a golden glow on puddles after a recent rain shower, the humid smell still clinging in the air about. The building was painted white, had lots of windows adorned with golden drapery. Heavily decorated carriages surrounded the entry doors, and there was line of arrival.

"Jack, are you sure this is safe? I mean, everyone here looks like royalty, and if someone recognizes you..." Hermione asked one last time, looking back at Jack who had a patient smile in place.

"Don't you worry one bit, luv. I've got it all taken care of." Jack assured her with a wink, reaching into the seat cushion and retrieving a white men's wig. Hermione couldn't hold back a laugh.

She burst into chuckles, clutching her stomach. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She said between laughs, "I just wasn't expecting that."

Jack situated the hairy object on his head, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a powder pad. He patted it onto his face, making him look less tan. Back then, Hermione knew, that to be tan was a sign of poverty, that you were a worker. So she understood that it was necessary, no matter how ridiculous.

Just then the carriage came to a stop, and a man opened the door. He stood to the side, holding his hand out for Hermione to take. She nodded in thanks to the man as she stepped onto the cobblestone street. She turned to see Jack step out after her, the wind blowing his tee shirt frills into his face as he tried to step down. He waved his hands about, spitting with his lips pinched as he tried to fan the frilly material from his face.

Hermione smiled until she realized all of the nearby people were staring, repulsed. Jack finally came to her side, shaking himself off from his little 'incident' only moments ago. "Onward, luv- I mean... Darling." He corrected himself, reminding himself to behave formally.

Jack walked alongside Hermione, the both of them following the crowd into the building. Inside was almost entirely gold, with giant crystal chandeliers and the walls painted with an old renaissance touch. The floors were a shiny marble and humongous staircases carved entirely from gold spanned out the back of the room.

Hermione was in absolute awe. It was far more fabulous than she would have ever anticipated, in fact, she thought for a moment that she was in King Louis' palace, Versailles. Or- she might as well have been.

"Bonjour, Madame." A man tipped his hat to her as he passed. She smiled and nodded to him in response, also glad that they hadn't found her or Jack suspicious. Yet.

"Jack, this is brilliant!" She cheered, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"This isn't even the best part, luv." Jack grinned at her excitement. Things were already turning out better than he had anticipated!

"What's the best part?" Hermione asked, her eyes lighting up.

"I can't tell ye." He smirked, putting his arm around her waist.

"You, sir." A tall man approached them.

Jack was startled for a moment, his hand unconsciously gripping onto Hermione tighter. "Yes?" He asked nervously, trying his best not to show his gold teeth.

"Beverage?" The man held out a platter of small drink glasses.

"Why, thank you, sir." Jack nodded, accepting the entire tray of drinks, leaving the man momentarily confused.

"Don't you think you've had enough, Darling?" Hermione raised her eyebrow at Jack, confiscating the tray from him and returning it to the dazed man. "That will be all." Hermione assured the man before taking Jack's arm, leading him away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hermione questioned after they were far enough away.

"Old habits die hard I suppose." Jack gave her a weak smile, now knowing he could have gotten them kicked out- or worse, discovered and arrested. "And, well, I did pay for us to come here, we have just as much rights to be here as these other foofy foots."

"Despite your occupation..." Hermione reminded him.

"Despite my occupation." Jack nodded, understanding. He wouldn't argue further. "Oh look," He pointed towards the stairwell, "Time to go to the main event."

Hermione craned her neck through the crowd to see that everyone was entering one of the large rooms in the back. A theater, she assumed. "Come on, let's go!" Hermione chirped, taking Jack's hand and leading him through the crowd.

It joyed him to see her happy like this, AND the fact that she was holding his hand. Up the golden steps, they followed the crowd into a large room that could fit TWO Hogwarts great halls.

Hermione squeaked in excitement, almost jumping up and down at the sight. There, amongst the crowd, was King Louis the fourth, she assumed.

"Jack, look!" She pointed politely in the direction of the royals. "It's the King of France!" She emphasized the word 'King'.

Jack couldn't hold back a grimace. This only meant bad news. There would be higher security, meaning, he had a much higher chance of being discovered as a pirate. "Our seats should be in the..." He tried to remember, "twenty third row. We should have a plenty saturable view from there, aye?"

"Twenty third..." She craned her neck over the garish wigs and hats that towered above people's heads.

"You are looking for the twenty third row, madam?" A young voice sounded from behind her. She turned to see a young man, teens by the look of it, dressed in navy blue and tights, his dark brown hair pulled back in a pony tail. "My father, Commander Norrington and I are sitting in the twenty third row. I may assist you there?"

Hermione noticed how Jack seemed uneasy the moment he heard the words 'Commander Norrington'. Jack retrieved a small handkerchief from an unexpecting man's pocket, brining it up to cover his face.

"James." His father called from their left. He looked stern, a powdered wig in place. "Come."

The boy lowered his face, coming to his father. Hermione motioned for Jack to follow, as she came and sat beside James, Jack sitting to her right.

"Bonjour, sir." A very large man came to sit beside Jack, the buttons of his lavish shirt prepared to burst any moment.

"Bonjour..." Jack echoed, making an unpleasant face as the man came to sit beside him. The man's large arm took up every inch of space on Jack's armrest, and the pirate tried to unnoticeably push the man's arm away with his elbow. As more and more people found their seats, the orchestra began to rehearse, the loud toot of a trumpet sounding here and there. A person came to stand in front of the tall red curtain, center stage.

"I sure hope this is English." Jack mumbled.

"What?" Hermione whispered.

"Bonsoir, vos rois et vos Majestés..."

Jack sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically as the man continued.

"Ce soir tu wilst assigner votre divertissement sans fin, et nous avons du monde japonais célèbres act, le pavillon de pivoine."

"Jack, I can translate." Hermione couldn't hold back a smile at his distress.

"He says welcome to his Majesty the King of France, as well to his other advisors..." Hermione paused, listening, "...tonight they are presenting the famous play coming from the ever spanning Japanese theory... The Peony Pavilion has been a world known attraction for centuries now..."

"Now," Jack interupted, "Will they be speaking Japanese or French? I know neither."

"I'm guessing French." Hermione continued to whisper. "I'm sure they translated the manuscripture."

The man exited the stage, the orchestra began to play, and the curtains began to open. A harp sounded over the other instruments as the curtains drew back, revealing a zen atmosphere. A green hued garden served as the back ground, a large faux tree stood near the right, and a stone bridge to the very left. A blue linen fabric ran from under the bridge, giving the illusion of a river.

A woman strode onto the stage, her hair pulled tightly back into a bun, her skin painted white, and clad in a bright orange kimono. She waved her hands above her head. "Liniang! Liniang Du!" The woman called. "Liniang où es-tu? avez-vous fait votre travail?"

"It's a mother," Hermione explained. "She calling for her daughter, who I assume is named Liniang."

"Je suis ici, mère." A young girl came onto stage, wearing a blue kimono. "IVe a pas terminé mon travail ici, car je suis maintenant avec vous."

"That is Liniang, her mother is calling her from her household duties." Hermione continued. "Her mother says for her to prepare for the event coming up, I didn't catch what it was."

High up in the booth, a woman watched from beneath her black cloak, a short man beside her. "What are they talking about?" Mistress Valeria questioned rhetorically, observing Jack and Hermione through a pair of binoculars.

"Maybe the pirate is talking about the King, maybe pinching a jewel off 'em or something." The minion said excitedly, his voice annoyingly high pitched and scratchy.

The minion was clonked on the head with the binoculars. "He's not the one talking, you baffoon." The woman scorned.

The woman zoomed in on Hermione through the binoculars, trying to read her lips as she spoke.

Hermione found herself not translating as the women on stage broke into song. They sang opera, which she couldn't pick up as easily.

Hermione glanced over at Jack, who seemed fully intrigued by their perfectly pitched voices along with the symphonic orchestra that played in the background. A melody blended together of flutes, violins, harps, drums and bells that made your chest feel like vibrating with the amount volume. Jack glanced back at Hermione, locating her closest hand and holding it. She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder as they continued to observe the play, unaware they they were being observed from the balconies above.

A few minutes had passed when Hermione stood from her seat. "I'm going to find the powder room." She whispered to Jack, making her way out of the isle with difficulty, seeing as the large man beside Jack wasn't all too willing to budge. Eventually, and with some luck, she managed to squeeze her dress between the rows of seats and into the followed the red carpeted steps up into the large golden hallway, guessing as to where they might have their restrooms. She drifted left, rounding a corner and down a set of stairs, unknowingly nearing the back of the stage.

"There you are!" An unfamiliar voice called out, and Hermione soon found herself being pulled away. Startled, she yelped and protested in French. "You let me go this instant!"

"I know, Margerie, you didn't want the part, but that's no reason to run out on us." The woman said, forcefully seating her in front of a vanity mirror.

They must've thought she was one of the actresses! "Listen," Hermione explained, "My name is Hermione!"

They didn't listen though, they quickly put the white makeup on her face and wrapping a blue kimono around her. "You've got the wrong girl!" Hermione hissed as they drug her over to the main stage, shoving her into the open.

The light instantly blinded her as she glanced about in shock, unaware of what she was supposed to be doing. The other actresses began to surround her, dancing. She began to follow in their steps, hoping she might be able to sneak off as long as it was them that had the crowd's attention.

Jack sat in his seat, frowning. Shouldn't she be back by now? He craned his neck through the audience, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. "Excuse me, sir," Jack leaned over to the pompous man beside him. "You wouldn't happen to see the young lady I'm with, have you?"

"Ze madamuzelle?" He shifted his eyes back and forth, speaking in badly accented English. "No, misuer."

"Zank you." Jack nodded in appreciation before craning his neck to look about the seats some more.

"Vait-" the man next to him pointed to the stage. "Iz zat not her zere?"

Jack squinted his eye's focus onto the stage, his eyes then widening. It was Hermione! What in Neptune's sea was she doing on stage? Jack stood in shock, his disguised wig clinging to the man beside him's beaded coat, thus sliding off of Jack's head as he stood.

A chorus of gasps erupted through the crowd, heads turning to him.

"Iz a PIRATE!" The man beside Jack hollered.

The orchestra halted, the dancers stopping their dance to see what the hullabaloo was about. Hermione squinted through the crowd, looking for Jack.

She saw him climbing over people in a mad dash, his disguise gone. Without much thought, she ran towards the front of the stage, leaping off the edge and into the orchestra.

"After her!" The king's men yelled, pointing in her direction. Her heart raced as she scrambled over the band, accidentally sticking her foot through a drum in the process.

"Minion! What is happening down below?" Mistress Valeria shouted, leaning over the railing to watch Jack rush from the theater and Hermione trampling through the band. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

Jack was no longer in sight. Where had he gone? Hermione bolted up the walkway, frantically looking around for Jack as the guards ran not too far behind her. A few gun shots sounded, and Hermione quickly ducked down as she ran, letting out an exasperated gasp. She emerged from the theater room and back into the main atrium, running along the railing. She felt a force grab her around her stomach, pulling her OVER the railing. She screamed as she dangled on someone's arm fifty feet over the marble flooring.

"Hush, luv!" The person said in her ear before they let go of the railing, landing on the red and gold cushioned sofa. She landed on top of Jack, thankful to see it was him the whole time. She smiled. "You scared me to death, you!"

"Never mind that now!" His smile faded as the guards began sprinting down the stairs. He grabbed her arm, pulling her into another room, this one was filled with people, all partner dancing to an independent orchestra. Jack pulled her deep through the crowd, taking her hand and her waist.

She immediately knew to dance along with him, trying to appear normal and as if they weren't being hunted down by the king's guards. She rested her hand on his shoulder as they swayed back and forth, him letting go of her waist in order to spin her. She smiled as she fell back against his arm in a dip, his nose not inches from hers. He lifted her back up, spinning her around and pulling her back into his arms again.

The sound of the guards filtering into the room sounded, and the other dancers hardly even cared. The music continued to play and the people continued to dance.

"There they are!" A voice echoed through the room, James Norrington's dad.

"Run." Hermione grabbed his hand and lead him towards one of the tall windows. She let go, grabbing a chair and tossing it into the fragile glass frame.

"I'll have to remember that." Jack raised his eyebrow.

"Grab onto this." Hermione instructed as they grabbed the curtain, using it to slide out of the window and land on the ground.

"They're escaping!" The guards bellowed from the window above.

"This way, Hermione!" Jack ushered her towards the street. Carriages lined the entrance to the opera house, and Jack's eyes perked up with an idea. "Follow my lead."

He jogged over to one the departing carriages, dropping and rolling beneath it. Hermione thought he'd lost his mind, but she cringed and did the same. Jack grasped the wheel axels and held himself up, followed by Hermione.

"This has to be one of the more... Creative escapes I've seen." She breathed out as the carriage began to move.

"I'm notorious for those, luv." He winked to her, causing her cheeks to flush pink.

"And not a bad dancer, either." She smiled as she complemented him.

Minutes had passed, and Hermione could tell they were nearing the Hotel they were staying at. "Jack, we're close."

"Right-o, luv. Lets let go on three. One-"

"Two-"

"Three!"

They both released the bar, falling onto the ground as the carriage rolled on without them. Jack then helped Hermione to her feet, and she brushed off the skirt of her dress.

"I'd give it about two more blocks down the road." Hermione observed.

"Good, because I'm butched." Jack sighed, wiping his brow. They proceeded down the brick street, along the old fashioned buildings with their strikingly adapted architecture and extreme details and carvings. The snow dusted streets lined their path, the bitter cold breath of night nipping at their cheeks.

"Hopefully our dear Billy has a fire started." Jack commented, rubbing his arms. He was glad he'd brought his coat along.

Soon enough, they came across their fancy hotel. The doorman held the door open for them to enter, an they were greeted with a burst of warm air. The brass chandelier glowed above them, reflecting it's golden glow about the luxurious room. Hermione and Jack proceeded up the stairs, towards their room. Jack knocked on the grand door, waiting momentarily for Barbossa or Billy to come and open the door.

"How was your date?" Billy asked later on that night. Jack quickly glanced over to Hermione who was sleeping deeply in her bed.

"It went well for disastrous, if one would say so." Jack kicked his feet up onto the table, warming himself near the fireplace.

"What happened, Jack?" Billy asked, prodding the fire wood with his sword.

"I'm not entirely sure, mate. First thing I know, Hermione's on the stage, my wig is gone and everyone is chasing after me- us." Jack explained, smiling to himself at the memory. He replayed the moment when she has accidentally landed on top of him, how he would have kissed her if they weren't being chased by dozens of guards. The also re-imagined how they danced together.

"Jack?" Billy broke his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine, mate. Just fine." Jack smiled.

**[AN: It's funny because I'd written this chapter, or at least had it all planned out at the beginning of the summer, and sometime in the recent vicinity I'd watched Sherlock Holmes 2. I remember how much of a tantrum I had thrown I when I'd seen the locations and just the way things were was so similar to my own story. I'd even wanted to alter the plot entirely, but I was so keen on this one, I couldn't bring myself do it. Also, I like to add the little '15 years old James Norrington' details you can sometimes spot throughout. As I like to say, "Everything in a story is put there for a reason." HINT HINT. Anywho, sorry this is so long I just like to express some of my thoughts now and then. In the meantime, remember to review because I LOVE IT!]**


	16. Amadeus Fletcher

Barbossa grumbled to himself, stomping over to the drapes, firmly grasping the cloth and shutting them forcefully. He seemed irritated.

"What's got his sails in a knot?" Billy remarked under his breath, trying his best to stay below the first mate's vigilant radar.

"I haven't the foggiest." Jack mumbled. After a moment, he continued. "Well," He cleared his throat noisily so as to gain Barbossa's attention. "I say we set out on this venture of ours tomorrow evening, aye? I hear a right nasty blizzard'll be headed our way these next few days."

"Finally." Barbossa commented quietly, walking back over to the two men.

"What was that, Hector?"

"Nothing, Cap'n. I was just thinking to meself what an... Inspiring captain you are." He forced a smile, looking creepier than he might've intended.

"You see that, Billy? At least SOMEONE thinks its a good idea." Jack smiled, pouring himself a glass of alcoholic beverage that he'd found in the cabinet. Normally he would've drank it strait from the bottle, but he was in France, everything fancy and whatnot. Might as well, he shrugged, leaning back on the sofa and placing his bare feet up on the table.

"I was merely saying to you, Jack, that I'll be off on my own, trying to find a blacksmith perhaps to mend my belt buckle. Last I tried to get it fixed, they'd simply stuck it together with some kind of syrup." He explained in his defense.

"What did you expect from a shop in Tortuga, of all places!" Jack chuckled.  
"Oi, where are you going, Hector?"

Barbossa froze in place half-way through the doorway as if he was caught doing something he shouldn't have. "Just off to find some- erm- biscuits..." He lied.

"I thought you were lactose intolerant, what with all those apples you eat, you never have anything else. Oh well, carry on." Jack waved him off, completely oblivious. Billy however, raised an uncertain brow.

"Whelp, I'm exhausted, how bout you? I think I'll just hit the ol' hay for the night." Jack stood up, handing his empty glass to Billy. He strutted over to his bed, fluffing up his pillows when he heard a soft voice behind him.

"Jack?" Turning, he spied Hermione, half awake, half asleep in her bed. She continued, "Jack, I don't trust Barbossa."

"Luv, you have nothing to worry about. He's just an old fart, tha's all." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I just think he's the kind of guy to- what's it called..." She mumbled, searching her mind for the word. "Turn the crew against the Captain." She then turned away, falling right back asleep.

Jack shrugged, figuring she wasn't all aware of what she was talking about since she was half asleep to begin with. He laid down in his own bed, leaning over and blowing out the candle.

* * *

Jack opened his eyes upon a ruckuss, furrowing his eyebrows while tilting his head in wonder as to why he was back in his cabin.

"Jaaaacckkk!"

His eyes widened and became alert when he realized Hermione was being dragged out of bed from beside him.

Reaching forward, he lunched for her, but the crew had already pulled her away. She was crying in pain and distress as the pirates drug her out, holding onto her dress, arms, and hair.

Jack leaped from the bed to come after her when other crewmen grabbed hold of his arms, holding him back. "Hermione!" He reached out with one hand towards the cabin doors she had been carried out of. Soon, the crew forced him through the same pair of doors, causing the captain to fall onto the wooden planks of his own deck.

Squinting his eyes upward, Barbossa was standing over him, a victorious sneer in place. The first mate threw his head back in laughter at the captain before him.

"Jack!" Hermione screamed as the crew tried to restrain her beside the stairs on the deck.

Turning back, he saw that the entire crew before him had changed into cattle, still clad in their pirate garb. Jack's mustache twitched as he looked back up at Barbossa, who was also a cow.

The Barbossa cow began to speak, the straggly beard quivering under his chin. "Jaacckk, I bet ye weren't expecting a mootiny... Did ya?"

The crew of cows echoed in strange voices the word "Mootiny... Mootiny!"

Jack grabbed his head as he stepped back, feeling as if his eyes were rolling around inside his head. "Jack, I don't trust Barbossa..." Hermione's voice replayed in his mind. "...He might even start a mutiny."

"Mootiny... Mootiny!" The cows mooed in unison, all stepping closer towards him.

"Stop it! Stop it, I say!" Jack yelled over the sounds, backing up into the doors of his cabin. The doors opened behind him and he fell through. "Jack..." Hermione's sweet voice sounded through the still darkness of his mind. "Jack..."

"Jack." Hermione shook the captain awake.

He jerked upward into the sitting position, panting, his hair nearly stuck to his face from sweating.

"Jack, it was only a nightmare." Hermione comforted him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Billy and Barbossa both stared from the sitting area, very amused by the event that had just occurred.

Jack looked about with a big sigh of relief, despite his still racing heart. He gripped the bed sheets in his hand, just to make sure this was real and not another dream. He was snapped from his thoughts when Hermione stood from the bed, walking over to the curtains and drawing them open.

The morning light was dim, almost a pastel blue, slightly yellow along the rooftops of other buildings. Carriages and people cluttered the streets below the window, a neighborhood cryer yelling the town news from a podium.

"There's a bakery across the way, I can go and retrieve us some pastries?" Billy stood from the couch, preparing to leave.

"That would be nice, Mr. Turner. Perhaps some rum while you're at it." Jack suggested, sitting on the side of his bed and pulling his boots onto his feet.

"Scratch that last." Hermione turned around, giving Jack a scowl.

"Why?" He frowned, looking up at her like an innocent child who had dropped their ice cream.

"First of all, it's eight in the morning, second being you don't need any." She said quickly, going to straiten up the pillows on her own bed.

"Luv, I'm a Captain-"

"Yes? And?" Hermione asked with a wry smile, silently daring him to continue.

"Oh, fine..." He deflated, standing up and walking over to the sitting area.

Barbossa raised his eyebrows. Had Jack just given up his rum... for a girl?

"You ready to go hunting today? Or- erm- treasure hunting, rather?" Jack asked his first mate from the opposite sofa.

"Aye, I'm equally- if not more prepared than you are..." Barbossa smiled, reaching into his coat and retrieving the map Jack had originally taken from Donavan's pocket.

"How did you-?" Jack twitched in surprise, patting down his poofy shirt and brown pants as if looking for it.

"Leave it out at the helm before a storm, ye did. If I hadn't taken it, ye'd be swabbin up yer own hell's morgue off the deck." Barbossa chuckled, setting the map down on the table.

Hermione stood near the doorway, putting her deep red cloak over her shoulders, flipping her hair out from the hood.

"Wait- where are you going?" Jack stood up almost too eagerly.

"To meet a friend... I know someone in town." She lied quickly.

Alarmed, Hermione took a step back as Billy, 'Bootstrap', flung open the grand doors, a woven basket filled to the brim with pastries and sweets in his hand. Some snow dusted his coat, soaking his boots and hair. "Sometimes I have to remind myself, we're not in the Caribbean any longer."

"A bit slow on the uptake, are we, mate?" Jack grinned, standing from the sofa and accepting the large basket of breakfast treats. Hermione took the door as it began to close, leaving and shutting it behind her as unnoticeably as possible.

"So, Jack, what's our plan?" Billy asked, tossing his coat on the brass rack by the doors.

"Well," Jack began, retrieving the map, spreading it out on the brass colored table. "The treasure should be in this region." He waved his hands over the spot with an 'X'.

* * *

Hermione knocked several times on the old wooden door, and it was slightly cracked, causing the door to swing inward. The open passageway revealed the dark wooden interior.

She poked her head inside, announcing herself in French. She had learned the language early on in her life, so she was well practiced. "Salut? y a quelqu'un ici?"

"Ah! Who goes there?" a man's voice called. "Go away! I'm not buying your trinkets!"

"Pardon my intrusion, sir, but I'm looking for a sir Fletcher? It's... It's rather important." Hermione responded to the voice, keeping her eyes on the street rather than rudely examining the person's home.

"Oh... Well, come on in then, lass." The voice bellowed from inside.

Hermione had slight difficulty maneuvering through the door at first thanks to her rather expensive dress. The front room was quaint, having a small fireplace on the far side with a kettle floating over the crackling flames. An omelet sat uneaten and going to waste upon the table, a glass of orange juice spilled.

Two thin windows stood parallel on the far wall, allowing a cold white air to engulf the small room.  
Just then, a head appeared from a stairwell she hadn't noticed before.  
"You must be Hermione." He inclined, walking down the steps.

"Why, yes, sir. How did you-" She began.

"-your name was imprinted on your bag there." He pointed to her bag.

"And you must be Amadayus Fletcher?" Hermione asked, tilting her head. He wasn't at all the way she had imagined him. If anything, he seemed more dressed towards the likings of a modern day hobo. Plaid shirt, unshaven brown hair forming a short beard, and baggy brown pants.

"That's me. Erm... Oh!" He hollered, running over to his floating tea kettle, retrieving it and setting on the table. "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

"I know you're a wizard, sir. That's why I came." She explained so that he wouldn't have to try to hide his magic.

"Oh... Well what do you want then? I'm not selling any more dragons, if that's what you came for." He grumbled.

"No sir. I need some... Professional help." She said, looking down at her feet. "About a month ago, I was transported back in time."

"Well you're back, aren't you?" He mumbled sourly, turning his back to her as he preoccupied himself with the dishes.

"I-I haven't gone back, sir." Hermione said, approaching him.

He turned, fixing her with a quizzical examination. "Come with me." He rushed up the stairs. Hermione followed, hardly able to keep up with him.

He spoke slightly out of breath from his quick pace stride. "I had a prophet once tell me you would come, but I never believed them. They said I would prosper in assisting you."

Hermione thought for a moment. Prosper? Yes! She was the person he must have invented the device for! "Yes! She was right!"

"He..." Amadayus corrected, coming to a stop in front of a door.  
"He told me to be prepared, that someone would appear to me and need a way to the future. He told me to be prepared." He opened the door dramatically, revealing a  
potion lab within, lots of blacksmith tools hanging from the ceiling. "Although," he continued, "I haven't quite perfected it."

"What are you going to call it?" She asked, tapping her finger on an odd looking vile.

"The Minute Muse, but it doesn't sound quite right, does it?" He said, squinting in thought.

"I have a suggestion." Hermione perked up, turning to face him. "Time Turner."

"Time Turner... I like it." He said dreamily, then snapping back into a serious attitude. "But never mind that now. I must know, how did you arrive here?"

"Floo network." Hermione said quickly, she had been waiting for him to ask.

"Floo? But doesn't that only transport location?" He asked, sitting down on an old wooden stool.

"It apparently can, whenever controlled by the ministry, I figure it." Hermione explained. "It's crucial I return to my home time sometime."

"I see..." He said, setting his jaw to the side in thought. "You haven't told anyone else about your travels, have you?"

"No."

"Alrighty then." He stood up, brushing himself off.

"And-" She began, "If it would help the process go by faster, I could assist you."

"And 'ows that?" Amadeus asked, his eyebrow raised in question.

"I used to have one for my own. Or- will have one? My school teacher gave it to me my third year." Hermione explained. "I could draw up a quick sketch, I could tell you the proper metals and chemicals involved."

"That would be of lovely help, Miss Hermione." He nodded.


	17. The Catacombs

The cemetery was a dark and unpleasant place in the least, and Jack had a bad feeling about the whole idea. But he couldn't back out, not with his crew around, even though they all appeared equally unnerved.

"Well..?" Barbossa leaned towards his Captain, eyebrows raised in expectancy.

"This-a-ways." Jack looked up from his map, pointing towards the way they had just come. A spooky fog lurked below their knees, and the occasional hoot of an owl would catch Jack's attention.

"Let me see that." Barbossa snagged the map from Jack's hands, holding it the right way up. "This way."

Barbossa led the crew and captain through the fog, dead trees and tombstone heads poking up through it. Not far in the distance was a small building, a tomb or mosaleum by the look of it. It was carved from a grey marble, vines climbing around the two grand doors. They were looking for the entrance to the catacombs, searching for a treasure the map had spoken of.

Invisible twigs snapped beneath their boots, unable to be seen through the low-hanging clouds.

The mosuleum was much larger and much scarier up close, it's pointed roof towering a good five feet over their heads. Gargoyles stood about the entrance, fierce snarls in place.

Jack leaned down, mimicking the facial expressions of the statues. He then sauntered over, knocking on one of the doors before leaning his ear up against the side. "Nope. No one's home. Let's just go back-"

"No." Barbossa spat irritably. "We're going in. Pintel, lend me your sword."

"My sword? You have-" Pintel began, but was interrupted by the first mate as well.

"I won't be havin my sword damaged, aye? Now, hand it over, son." Barbossa didn't hesitate a moment more before he reached into the sailor's holster and unsheathed the man's sword. He then stuck the pointed blade between the crack of the doors, using the weapon as a crowbar. He placed his boot up on the side of the wall, attempting to pry the door open with all his might.

"Check this out, mate." Jack stepped up, feeling the top rim of the door with his hand. He bit his lip in frustration as he stood on his toes. "Aha!" He cheered, retracting his hand to show a key in his possession. "I learned that one all thanks to you, Barbossa. Although, I am surprised at you for not remembering your own foolish key hiding spots."

Barbossa huffed, tossing Pintel's sword away, leaving the crewman jumping after it.

Jack leaned down, inserting the key into the ancient rusted lock and twisting the key. With one easy click, the door fell open just a hair, and Jack pushed the door the rest of the way open.

By swinging open the door, decades and decades of dust flew up into the air, floating about and leaving the crew fanning the debris away from their faces. Jack removed his hat from his head, waving it around in front of him as he coughed. Barbossa pushed Jack aside, entering the dark clouded tomb unphased.

"Here." Barbossa announced. "There should be a hidden passageway nearby."

"Hidden passageway?" A crewman spoke up with a doubtful tone.

"'Ave you lost it? There's nothing 'ere!" A fat pirate hollered from the back.

"Oh, quiet! The lot of you wooses!" Jack barked, trying to make himself appear less frightened and confused.

"Everyone look about!" Barbossa yelled, "Search above and below, turn the place upside down if ye have to!"

"Aye, that too!" Jack added, standing with his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword while watching with extreme interest as the pirates nearly stumbled over one another inside the small room. A rather large rat scurried over Jack's boot, and he couldn't hold back a high pitched yelp as he leaped into the air. The pirate captain looked up quickly to make sure that none of the others had seen. They all met his eye with looks of amusement and confusion.

"As you were, gents." Jack spoke, shrugging it off.

The crew turned to Barbossa, waiting for his consent instead. "Aye, back to work."

Jack frowned at this. Why hadn't the crew listened to HIM? Their CAPTAIN?

Jack sauntered over to the large tomb in the center of the room, leaning against it. His hands rested on the rim of the marble coffin, and he crossed his ankles, looking about.

A small spider became visible in the light of a man's torch, and Jack watched as the creature disappeared into a small coin-size hole in the floor. He tilted his head, squinting his eyes as he peered down the hole in the ground.

"Hector! Come here a moment, if you will. I need a light!" Jack waved with his hand, not tearing his view from the small dot, afraid he wouldn't be able to find it again.

Barbossa came to Jack's side, his eyes widening upon noticing the hole as well. "Gents! Push this tomb out of the way!" The first mate instructed.

Jack, Barbossa, and the crew all shoved their backs up against the thousand pound marble tomb, scooting it slowly back. The giant marble slab was moved, replaced by a wood rectangular door within the floor, a circular handle in the center.

"Aye, this be it, gents. Mark my words." Jack spoke to the crew as he pulled up the handle, lifting the door up and revealing dark stairs down below. "Erm- your turn, I believe it is, Barbossa. Brave first mate, and all." Jack smiled, patting Barbossa on the back.

"Oh I don't think so, Jack..." Barbossa countered, shoving a lantern in Jack's arms. "Tis the Captain's duty, no?"

Jack craned his neck with a wary expression as he tried to see down inside, but his view was obstructed entirely by cobwebs. "But don't you think it's the first mate's turn to do something productive? I mean, I'm giving you a chance to do something significant and here you are denying it. Go on, mate, you know you want to..." Jack insisted.

"Go down there, Jack or ye'll 'ave the crew be nippin' at yer knickers!" Barbossa snarled, forcefully shoving Jack down the steps.

The dashing young captain's mustache curved into a deep frown. He steadied himself, arching his back and puffing out his chest in a last attempt to maintain some dignity after his first mate pushed him.

Jack waved his hands in front of his face, spitting with his lips pinched as he moved through the wall of cobwebs. He then dusted off his coat quickly, trying to remove any trace of spiders or other unidentifiable insects.

The crew watched with anticipation as Jack proceeded down the crumbling steps, an occasional rodent scrambling away from their candlelight.

* * *

"There, that should do it." Amadeus spoke softly as he dropped the last grains of sand into the miniature hourglass. Hermione sat back with a sigh, she had been holding it for the past half an hour so that Amadeus could add the last few finishing touches.

"Now we seal the top." He stood up, holding the hourglass gingerly with a pair of tongs, taking it over to the crackling fireplace.

Hermione pulled up a chair, sitting on it while examining the finished product of the time turner itself. The gold reflecting the fire only a few pieces away, it was almost exactly the same as Hermione's old time turner, stars engraved and all. He had made it entirely to the nines of Hermione's drawings of how she remembered her own time turner.

"Amadeus?" Hermione called.

"Yes?" He responded, looking over his shoulder to her.

"I just wanted to say how grateful I am that you're doing this..." She thought aloud, "But I'm worried about something. Or-someone- rather." She sighed. "I need your advice." She was about to ask him wether it was time for her to return home yet or not. She was concerned as to how he would react when she announced her departure.

"Which is?" He asked, remaining crouched beside the fire, holding the hourglass over it.

"I'm traveling with a pirate. Maybe you know him? Captain Jack Sparrow-"

"Sparrow?" He asked abruptly. "I've heard rumor, and this may not be true, but I hear a lot of sayin' that the Pirate Lord Villanueva is after him."

"No, not that I know of, why?" Hermione asked, her interest peaking, her concern growing.

"I'm not sure I can explain it to you thoroughly, but listen to me when I tell you this..." He paused looking around with caution. "... If you see a black crab, steer clear from it if you know what serves you right."

"A black crab?" Hermione mused. "Why can't you tell me more?"

He came closer, speaking in a whisper. "We here know not to speak of her, but she is known infamously for her dark magic."

"So she's a witch?" Hermione wondered, and why was he, a wizard, fearful of her?

"Worse. Rumor has it she's the envious twin sister to the sea goddess, Calypso." Amadeus explained. "Where is Captain Sparrow now?"

Hermione paused, trying to remember. "I don't know. But- I'm supposed to be meeting him back at the hotel tonight, as well as the rest of his crew."

He paused a moment, catching a glint of worry in her tone as she spoke. "Do you have feelings for him?"

"...Yes..." Hermione spoke, half in thought. She was worried about Jack's safety. What the rumors were true? What if the envious goddess was after him? What if she was after HER as well! She began to recall all of her spontaneous misfortune from the moment they'd arrived in Tortuga. What about the person at her window? The island? Nit ti mention all the ither creepy things that went on every now and then. What if these things weren't JUST coincidences?

Amadeus noticed Hermione was deep in thought, concern written all over her face. "Quickly, you must find Captain Sparrow and warn him."

"But I don't know where he is." Hermione stood up.

"I will escort you back to your hotel. Wait for him. If he does not return within the hour, you must find him." Amadeus spoke quickly, retracting the hot hourglass from the fire. He stumbled over to the table quickly placing the hot glass inside the time turner itself. "We don't have time to practice with it, but as soon as you get Jack Sparrow to safety, send yourself back to your own time, understood?You must go back!" He clicked it into place before handing the necklace to Hermione. She stuffed it into her pocket quickly.

Hermione walked over to the coat rack, putting her coat on quickly and rushing out of his house. Amadeus was not far behind, only moments later, he opened the door to his house and joined Hermione in the chilly streets.

"Lead the way. I shall escort you there, but that is all." Amadeus insisted.

* * *

Jack shuffled through the dark tunnel of the catacombs, holding the lit lantern over his head to light the way. A crowd of unhappy crewmen moaned in complaints, dragging their boots along the cave-like flooring.

Jack leaned to the side in confusion, his kohl-lined eyes squinting in the light as a screeching bat flew past his head. They had been trekking through the never ending maze for what seemed like hours now, the tunnels themselves only shrinking as they progressed.

"Jackkk, are ye sure you've been leading us in the right direction?" Barbossa called from behind.

"Positive, Hector. No worries. I've got me trusty map here." Jack said waving it beneath Barbossa's nose.

"Trusty. Psh." The first mate sneered. "Let me have that map, you aren't even looking at it."

"I don't need a map. I have pure instinct and luck to rely on, and if you need any more then you can go off on your own, savvy?" Jack ended with a mischievous know-it-all grin.

"Aye, the captain is right." Barbossa stopped in his tracks. "Perhaps we, meaning the crew and I, can go our own way. Who ever comes across the treasure first gets it all to them self, eh?"

Of course, Jack couldn't resist saying no. "Who then, pray tell, goes with you? Because I have all faith that me crew will stick with me, aye?"

The first mate raised a brow, turning to the group of sagging men behind them. "Alright, ye toad smuggling lot. Who goes with Jack?" Barbossa regarded the crew with a patient eye. Not a single hand raised.

"Fine then. More for me." Jack was deeply hurt, though he didn't show it.

Barbossa held out his hand to Jack. "Do we have an accord?"

Jack hesitated a moment, but his willful pride overcame him. "Aye." Jack took the first mate's hand, shaking it lightly. "First to the finish then?"

"First to the finish..." Barbossa echoed, dark grin in place. Things were falling right into place for him and the woman he had pledged his alliance to about a week before. She should be waiting for Jack somewhere within the catacombs, thanks to Barbossa.

Jack smiled with fake enthusiasm, walking past the crew and back the way they came so that he could take a new route through the tunnels. Completely unaware of what lay ahead.

Jack mumbled a few choice words to himself as he continued on through the dark tunnel. It had been only forty five minutes since he and the others had separated, but now he felt more lost than ever.

He held his lantern slightly higher, his arm tiring with the weight. Believe it or not, those lamps are heavy. The dim glow reflected off of dark walls, and the hand-dug tunnels seemed to go on forever. He felt the growing need to turn back and figure out a new route. A sound shuffled behind him and he was quick to turn on his heel. Jack began walking back the other way, though, the tunnel seemed somewhat different than it had been only a moment before. He furrowed his brows at an odd shaped figure in the rock. Jack leaned in with the lantern to get a closer view when an _arm _stretched from the walls and came down on top of his head. The captain fell, his lantern shattering across the cold floors of the catacombs.

A woman emerged from the shadows, looking down at the unconscious pirate, she clucked her tongue. "It was almost too simple."

A short man sauntered in from one of the adjoining caves, carrying a large chest, and setting it down near Jack's feet. The woman spoke again, "Bring our little guest back to the carriage, Donavan." She instructed as Donavan lifted up Jack, placing him in the giant box, and shutting the top.


End file.
